ABNORMAL SUMMERS IN THE PERm^AN COASTAL CURRENT 809 



relates observations which are too far apart, not only in space but also 

 in time by many days and even by weeks. This is a procedure which 

 does not seem advisable in a current system exposed to so many and so 

 sudden changes, as Gunther himself had to admit. During all his nu- 

 merous voyages in the Peruvian Current, the author only once came 

 across a situation which could induce him to accept the idea of 

 Gunther (1943, p. 242). 



On the other hand the fact must not be overlooked that Gunther 

 made his investigations in the Peruvian Current in the winter of 1931 

 between the warm summer of that same year and the still warmer one 

 of the year 1932, so that the countercurrents appeared to be the result 

 of some unstable situation in the Current, an idea which might be sup- 

 ported by our maps which show that in all of the abnormal years the 

 warm temperatures advanced more or less in the same sense as proposed 

 by Gunther (the line of the least resistance?). The northerly axis of 

 these "warm wedges" runs parallel with the axis of the bend of the iso- 

 therms for the high temperatures which according to our maps seem 

 to advance in direction to Chimbote, Huarmey or even Callao; there 

 is only a slight difference insofar as the main axis of Gunthers counter- 

 current lies a bit further to the south and west than ours. It should, 

 however, be taken into account that Gunther's observations have been 

 made during winter months, whilst our figures are all referring to sum- 

 mer time. 



The southerly countercurrent constructed by Gunther does not co- 

 incide, as well as the northerly one does, with the apparent movements 

 of warm water to the SE; but it would be possible to accept this theory 

 of Gunther's as a working hypothesis. The author must repeat that 

 the Peruvian reconnaissance could not yet be widened so far out at sea 

 as to prove or deny for any time of the year the existence of such 

 countercurrents, and it must be borne in mind that the Guano Company 

 has to make great sacrifices for all the research work done. The voyages 

 made by the author took place during the routine travelling of the ships 

 of the Guano Company, which allowed their captains, with a fine under- 

 standing of the scientific requirements, to take different courses from 

 the normal ones, according to the wishes of the author in order to 

 make hydrographic investigations, mostly in correlation with the more 

 important biological factors. 



But even if we accept the warm wedges of Gunther, the problem 

 is not yet resolved because the same Gunther has not been able to 

 answer exactly the questions as to where these countercurrents are 

 coming from. As his view of the conditions was limited to the winter 

 months, it seems possible that for the summer time the origin of these 



