﻿OCEAN 
  CURRENT 
  CALLED 
  "THE 
  CHILD" 
  — 
  MEARS 
  251 
  

  

  well 
  as 
  underneath. 
  The 
  writer 
  continues 
  to 
  surmise 
  that 
  when 
  

   winds, 
  atmospheric 
  pressure 
  belts, 
  and 
  other 
  phenomena 
  cause 
  a 
  ceas- 
  

   ing 
  or 
  a 
  tendency 
  to 
  cease 
  in 
  the 
  Humboldt 
  Current 
  upwelling, 
  

   perhaps 
  the 
  subsurface 
  counter 
  current 
  underneath 
  tends 
  to 
  rise 
  to 
  

   the 
  surface 
  in 
  a 
  similar 
  manner. 
  When 
  its 
  rise 
  occurs 
  near 
  or 
  at 
  the 
  

   boundary 
  line 
  of 
  the 
  Humboldt, 
  the 
  subsurface 
  current 
  carries 
  with 
  

   it 
  the 
  hot 
  surface 
  water 
  of 
  the 
  equatorial 
  region. 
  

  

  In 
  other 
  words, 
  it 
  appears 
  likely 
  that 
  El 
  Nino 
  is 
  the 
  counterpart 
  of 
  

   the 
  Davidson 
  Current 
  along 
  the 
  California 
  shore, 
  except 
  that 
  the 
  

   Davidson 
  is 
  never 
  a 
  hot 
  current. 
  The 
  Davidson 
  Current 
  originates 
  

   within 
  the 
  cooler 
  Temperate 
  Zone. 
  

  

  We 
  know 
  that 
  "The 
  Child" 
  comes 
  every 
  year 
  to 
  Pacific 
  South 
  

   America 
  shortly 
  after 
  Christmas. 
  We 
  know 
  where 
  it 
  comes 
  from 
  and 
  

   the 
  general 
  direction 
  of 
  its 
  travel. 
  How 
  vigorous 
  and 
  active 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  

   cannot 
  be 
  foretold 
  with 
  any 
  certainty. 
  The 
  traditional 
  and 
  still 
  

   popularly 
  accepted 
  7-year 
  cycle 
  no 
  longer 
  constitutes 
  a 
  sure 
  basis 
  of 
  

   reckoning. 
  The 
  southernmost 
  extension 
  of 
  its 
  migration 
  is 
  another 
  

   uncertainty. 
  Someday 
  we 
  shall 
  be 
  better 
  informed 
  about 
  the 
  ranges 
  

   and 
  vicissitudes 
  of 
  this 
  oceanic 
  mystery. 
  Until 
  then, 
  we 
  can 
  at 
  lea^st 
  

   recognize 
  the 
  overshadowing 
  importance 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  Nature's 
  most 
  

   powerful 
  forces 
  in 
  dominating 
  a 
  relatively 
  unknown 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   Western 
  Hemisphere. 
  

  

  