In this report on the drift bottle study which was begun in 1948 

 several terms recur o These terms will have greater meaning if defined 

 at the outset. 



The disposal area is a position at sea, 2 miles square, centered by 



the coordinates latitude 40° 15» 24" N. and longitude 73° 46» 25" W« This 



position is approximately 10 miles east of Elberon, New Jersey and 11 miles 

 south of Ambrose Lightshipo 



The area of immediate concern for the purpose of this report is 

 arbitrarily bounded on the east by longitude 73 00« Wo„ on the south 

 by jatit^de 59° 00' No, and on the west and north by the coasts of 

 New Jersey and Long Island, New York, respectively, Hydrographic 

 sampling stations visited by the vessels of the Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institution lie within this areao The acid component of the waste- 

 product released in the disposal area is chemically undetectable by 

 the time it is transported by existing currents to the southern limits 

 of the area (Ketchum and Ford, 1948) e 



Drift intervals are the number of days elapsed between the dates 

 of bottle releases and the reported recovery or suspected beachingo 



Minimum course tracks are the shortest probable tracks between the 

 points of release and reported recoveries o They are not always rhumb 

 lines, for when land intervenes the tracks must arbitrarily be led 

 around to avoid ito 



BAIANTJS RELEASES 



COMMENTS ON RECOVERIES 



On July 27 and 28 observers on the vessel Balanus released 15 

 bottles at each of 16 stations -- a total of 240 bottles o All releases 

 were made within the area bounded by 40° 27* No, latitude 40'^ 19 « Noj, 

 longitude 73^ 22 « We, and the coast of New Jerseyo As of January 15, 1949 

 there were 2 3 recoveries from 10 stations. All recoveries show evidence 

 of drift to the south and west© These recoveries came in from North Long 

 Branch, New Jersey and points southward to North Carolina, and between 

 intervals of 1 day and 166 days after release. See Table 1 and Figure 2o 



a. Recoveries from New Jersey 



For ease in following the comments on recoveries, the grid of the 

 16 release stations has been designated as follows? the north«=south lines 

 as 1, 2, 3, 4 to the eastv/ardj and the east-west lines as A, B^ C, and D 

 to the southward. 



