ioo Temperature Sections Surveyed. 



carrying the waters of the East Australian current along with it. 

 No trace of a branch of the South Pacific Equatorial Current 

 flowing along the east coast of New Zealand appears at Stations 

 168 and 169 of the section between Cook Strait and Tonga 

 Tabu ; but as these stations are near the coast, and properly 

 belong to the plateau of New Zealand, it is possible that such 

 a branch may be found further to the eastward. 



The above section exhibits the usual contraction of the 

 isotherms as we approach the tropics. The soundings of the 

 " Gazelle " and of the " Tuscarora " have proved that a channel 

 of more than 2000 fathoms in depth passes up between New 

 Zealand and the Kermadec Islands in a north-westerly direc- 

 tion towards New Caledonia. Split into two branches by the 

 plateau which supports New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands, the 

 eastern branch continues in the same direction between the 

 latter islands and the New Hebrides, and finally communicates 

 with the basin which stretches from the New Hebrides as far as 

 Torres Strait. 



Station 171a, with a depth of 2900 fathoms, belongs to the 

 area of depression discovered by the " Gazelle," and which has 

 been traced and explored by the German expedition from the 

 Samoan Islands across the South Pacific as far as the Strait of 

 Magellan. 



Section from Tonga Tabu to Torres Strait (Plate 15, 

 Table IX.). — The combined soundings of H.M.S. " Challenger" 

 and of the U.S.S. " Tuscarora" show that the Fiji Islands occupy 

 the centre of a plateau which comprises the Samoan Islands 

 in the north-east, Tonga Tabu or the Friendly Islands 

 in the east, the Kermadec group in the south, and the New 

 Hebrides in the west. This plateau may be considered as 

 the terminal knot which unites two extensive areas of eleva- 

 tion. One of these stretches from the Samoan group, first 

 in a north -north -easterly direction through the Ellice and 



