Monthly Sea-Surface Temperature Anomaly 

 Graphs For Atlantic Coast Stations 



by 

 Franklin Stearns 



ABSTRACT 



Anonmalies are presented for temperature records from 27 stations located be- 

 tween Maine and Florida. The years 1950-59 are taken as a common base period. 

 The records cover various spans of time since 1873. 



INTRODUCTION 



To estimate the gross variability of the sea- 

 surface temperature along the Atlantic coast 

 of the United States and to document an ap- 

 parent warming trend during the present cen- 

 tury, monthly and annual temperature anom- 

 alies were connputed at 27 coast stations and 

 light ships (fig. 1). 



This paper presents graphs of the monthly 

 temperature anomalies (fig. 2). The annual 

 anomalies, and a geographic and temporal 

 analysis of nnonthly and annual anonnalies are 

 published elsewhere (Stearns, in press). 



Methods used were those of Robinson ( 1961), 

 who has presented similar data for the Pacific 

 coast of North America (Scripps Institution of 

 Oceanography, I960'). The anomalies were 

 connputed at each station fronn the mean of the 

 10 years 1950-59, to maintain consistency with 

 Robinson's analysis (so the two coasts could 

 be compared), and because the majority of 

 Atlantic coast stations with recent records 

 have most of these years in common. 



Monthly sea-surface temperature anomalies 

 at each station were computed as the differ- 

 ence between each nnonthly mean, and the 

 monthly mean for the base period 1950-59. 

 Positive anomalies indicate warmer condi- 

 tions, negative anomalies cooler conditions, 

 than the mean of the 1950's. 



Temperature data were obtained from pub- 

 lications of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 



Note. — Franklin Stearns, Oceanographer, Bureau of 

 Comnnercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, Washing- 

 ton, D.C. 



• Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 1960. Data report; 

 Temperature and salinity anomaly charts for 24 Canadian 

 and American shore stations based on a common refer- 

 ence period. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Refer- 

 ence 60-30, 9 p. 33 figs. (Unpublished report.) 



(1955 and 1960) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service (Bumpus, 1957a and 1957b; and Day 

 1959a, 1959b, and 1960). Additional data for 

 the period January 1959 to September 1960 

 were obtained from the files of the U.S. Coast 

 and Geodetic Survey. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Charles B. Taylor provided access to un- 

 published records of the Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey, and Frances M. Fehrman performed 

 most of the laborious computations and tabu- 

 lations. 



UTERATURE CITED 



BUMPUS, DEAN F. 



1957a. Surface water temperatures along 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United 

 States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

 Special Scientific Report--Fisheries 

 No, 214, 153 p. 



1957b. Oceanographic observations, 1956, 

 east coast of the United States. U.S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service. Special Scien- 

 tific Report--Fisheries No. 233, 132 p. 



DAY, C. GODFREY. 



1959a, Oceanographic observations, 1957, 

 east coast of the United States. U.S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, Special 

 Scientific Report--Fisheries No. 282, 

 123 p. 



1959b. Oceanographic observations, 1958, 

 east coast of the United States. U.S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, Special Scien- 

 tific Report--Fisheries No, 318, 119 p. 



