ABNORMAL SUMMERS IN THE PERUVIAN COASTAL CURRENT 805 



be made without control by standard-seawater, their true oceanographic 

 value cannot be emphasized. 



The revision of the charts regarding the region between 3° and 

 4°S leads to distinguish two different movements of warm water north, 

 northwest and northeast of Cabo Blanco. Figures 4, 6, 10 and perhaps 

 also Figure 5 show the expansion of warm waters from the inner part 

 of the Gulf of Guayaquil. These surround frequently Cabo Blanco in 

 a southerly direction and are then identifiable as far as 5°S, sometimes 

 even further, to the south by higher temperatures, lower salinity and 

 a different fauna (especially fishes) (Schweigger, 1943, 1945), but are 

 without any climatic influence on the northern territories of Peru (Zo- 

 rell 1928). Such a southerly flow of warm water is not only produced 

 in summer months, it may happen in any month of the year. 



Contrasting with these features are the maps for 1953 (Figs. 7 and 

 11) in which the warm water without any doubt is coming from the 

 northwest. Such a direction of the flow is also indicated in Figure 2 

 (1891) and this is evidently also the meaning of the charts in Figure 

 3 (1925). Such a situation seems to be characteristic for the major 

 disturbances in the outer parts of the Gulf of Guayaquil with the conse- 

 quent production of climatic abnormalities at least in the northern 

 parts of Peru. 



A rapid fall of surface temperatures near Cabo Blanco and south 

 of it indicates the presence of warm water derived from the interior of 

 the Gulf of Guayaquil, whilst on the other side high inshore tempera- 

 tures between Cabo Blanco and Aguja Point are connected with the 

 inrush of warm water from the northwest, which comes from the open 

 South Pacific Ocean or the Equatorial Countercurrent. Following this 

 differentiation, it seems possible to attribute the high temperatures 

 between 4° and 6°S shown for March 1941 (Fig. 5) to the influence 

 from northwestern areas. 



The second interesting feature in these maps is the pressure of 

 warm water against the coastline between 9° and 10° and sometimes 

 11"S. This is most impressively represented in April 1953 (Fig. 11) 

 but can be deduced to a greater or lesser extent from many of our maps 

 and even so from Figure 3. An elevation of the surface temperatures 

 at the south or the southwest of Chimbote is observed almost regularly 

 throughout the year. The zone of warm water seems to be connected 

 with a countercurrent which spreads out south and southeastward in 

 coastal areas and is known by all navigators by its accelerating effect 

 when sailing from Huarmey on a southerly course. Repeated observa- 

 tions have shown that the water entering there is of higher salinity 

 than the normal inshore water, so that it seems justified to consider 



