l6 BJØRN HELLAND-HANSEN AND FRIDTJOF NANSEN. M.-N. Kl. 



During the spring, summer and autumn of the years 1901 to 1905, 

 eight sections were made across the Norwegian Atlantic Current in the 

 region west-north-west of the Sogne Fjord. The maximum salinities of 

 all these sections vary between 35.31 0/00 and 35.37 '^ oo- The highest 

 salinities were observed in August and November, 1903, which seems to 

 agree well with the fact that the highest salinities of the Lofoten-sections 

 were found in the following spring (May, 1904). But the difterence in 

 salinit}' between these maximum years and the others is very small in 

 both regions. 



The many sections across the Færoe-Shetland Channel taken by the 

 Scotch oceanographers and others during the years from 1902 to 1910 

 prove that the annual variations in the salinity of the Atlantic water are 

 also as a rule very small in this region where the Atlantic Current flows 

 into the Norwegian Sea, the salinity of the most saline water being most 

 frequently between 35.35 and 35.40 "/oo- 



We consequently find that the salinit}' of the waters carried by the 

 Atlantic Current through the Norwegian Sea remains very nearly the 

 same from one year to another, in every region where trustworth}' 

 investigations have been carried on; and the saUnity decreases gradually 

 during the northward course of the water. We can see no reason why 

 it should be otherwise in its northern continuation called the Spitsbergen 

 Atlantic Current. The probability is therefore that the variations in the 

 salinity of the latter are very small. 



In September, 1900, Dr. Johan Hjort took a vertical section, (PI. VI, 

 Sect. H) with three stations (Stats. H. 62— H. 64, Fig. 21), across the eastern 

 part of the Atlantic Current west of the Bear Island Platform [see Helland- 

 Hansen and Nansen, 1909, PI. XIV A, Fig. 4]. This section was situated 

 less than one degree of latitude south of the eastern part of Section I 

 (Stats. I — 4). There is a great similarit}' between the two sections. In the 

 section of 1900 the isohaline of 35.0 /00 is in about 500 metres near 

 the continental slope at Stat. 63 ^, and rises to about 450 m. at Stat. 64, 

 about 100 kilometres farther seawards from the slope. In Section I of 

 June, 1910, the isohaline of 35.0 %o is probably in about 500 metres at 

 Stat. 2 near the continental slope, and rises to about 370 m. 100 kilometres 

 farther seawards between Stats. 3 and 4. The volume of Atlantic water 



1 In our section [1909, PI. XI VA, Fig. 4] we have drawn the isohaline of 35.00 O/qq below 

 600 metres at this station. This is, however, not correct. The salinity in 600 metres 

 was 34-99 '^/00 according to the most accurate determination (with Hydrometer of Total 

 Immersion [see 1909, p. 368]) while the value obtained by titration was 35.00 O/qq. 



