1895 ^0. 9- HYDR.-BIOL. STUDIES OF THE XORW. FISHERIES. 3 1 



Station 247 — 30.67 per 1000 — 0.0 ° 



> 248 — 32.01 — i.qO 



» 249 — 34.42 — — — 3.50 



Baltic Water and low temperatures are to be met widi in the 

 Skagerak and Cattegat. During the past Winter the temperature con- 

 ditions were most peculiar, as the temperature over the entire countr}- 

 was so low that the Christiania Meterological Office found the tempera- 

 ture of the air to be at many places, lower than any previously obser\'ed. 

 This low temperature of the air naturally exercised an influence, in any case, 

 on the surface of the sea. On the surface chart it will be seen that the 

 temperature of even the Bank Water oft' the coasts of Denmark and 

 Holland was so low as o " and i **. I cannot, however, in this instance 

 venture to say to what depth the temperature of the air had an influ- 

 ence on the water. It appears, however, from the chart, that the salter 

 layers have, throughout, been of a higher temperature. It will tiius be 

 seen that the temperature of the Atlantic Water was 6 ^ ; that of the 

 North Sea 4 ° to 5 ", and the Bank Water 2.9 ° to 40, nothwithstanding 

 that in all probabilit)- these temperatures have been affected beyond the 

 common by the unusual coldness of the atmosphere. 



In the beginning of Februar}- {according to surface observations from 

 the fishing station Espevær), the salineness of the water J3.50 per 1000) 

 and temperature (4") were considerable on tiie West Coast of Norway. 

 The conditions then resembled greatly those of the previous year, but, 

 however, a sudden change occurred. Captain Bie, who sailed on the 

 7th Februar}' from Espevær, to make a series of observations at Sta- 

 tions 298 to 302 (see PI. I\', Fig. 2), reports that, the surface tempera- 

 ture in near the land was 4". -On the 8th,« according to Bies notes, 

 -there was a gale from tiie SE., so that we could not put to sea. 

 On the 9th, when materials for the above mentioned section of tiie 

 Norwegian Channel were collected (PI. I\', Fig. 2) the temperature of 

 the surface inside Utsire (see Chart of Depths II) had gone down from 

 4 ° to 2 *', and near land, a temperature of 4 ^ was first obtained at a 

 depth of 60 mètres. The section clearly shews how the »isosalines« 

 curve towards the coast. Instead of the line for 32 per cent. I have 

 chosen to draw the line for 32.2 per cent. One will observe the wedge- 

 like shape of the layers, and furthermore perceive that the isotherms 

 run in the same direction and course as the » isosalines &. Thus 5 " 

 coincides greatly with 34 per 1000, 2 ° with 32.2 per 1000. This con- 

 firms to a great extent the conditions discovered by the Swedish seien 

 tists on the shores of the Bohuslän, that the temperature and salineness 



