igi2. No. 12. 



THE SEA WEST OF SPITSBERGEN. 



47 



Provided that the relation between the velocities of the movements of the 

 upper and lower water-strata of the northward-flowing Atlantic Current, 

 oft" the west coast of Spitsbergen, changed considerably with the tidal 

 wave, this would necessarily have a great effect upon the depth of the 

 various strata at the sides of the current, owing to the de- 

 flecting force caused by the Earth's rotation, by which the 

 northward-moving water is pressed against the continental 

 slope off" Spitsbergen. It has to be considered that this de- 

 flecting force increases with the sinus of the latitude, and is 

 very great in these northern regions. Another circumstance 

 of importance is also that the direction of the tidal currents 

 is continually changing during the day and night, and some- 

 times the}' may be directed transversally to the sections, and 

 at other times more or less parallel to them. It seems there- 

 fore probable that the tidal currents must have some influence 

 upon the position of the isohalines and isotherms, but how 

 much it is difficult to decide at present. 



It ma}^ be of interest to find out what intervals of time 

 there are between the observations at the various stations, 

 and in what relation they stood to the position of the moon. 



The curves in Figs. 37 and 38 represent a hypothetical 

 period of the same length as the time between the upper ^ 

 and lower culminations of the moon, which are indicated ;_= 

 respectively by rings and black discs. The date and the hours 

 of the da}' (from i to 24 from midnight to midnight) are given 

 along the abscissa. The duration of the observations at each 

 station is indicated by small rings on the curves, and the 

 number of the station is written above them. If these curves 

 be compared with the Sections I, II, I\' and \'I (Pis. IV and V), 

 it is seen that the observations at those stations where the 

 most conspicuous "waves" occur, actually coincide with those 

 parts of the curves where they might be expected, if the "waves" 

 be due to some vertical periodical movement of this kind. 



The most conspicuous "waves" occur in Sections \1 and 

 IV. The tops of these "waves"' are at Stats. 16, 18 (perhaps also 



2S. VI. 1910 



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