IS THE GULF STREAM A MYTH? 125 



temperature ; and arguments on the subject of the 

 Gulf Stream have been derived from the evidence of 

 what is termed a minimum thermometer that is, a 

 thermometer which will indicate the lowest temperature 

 it has been exposed to let down into the depths of 

 the sea. All such arguments, whether adduced against 

 or in favour of the Gulf- Stream theory, must be held 

 to be futile, since the thermometer in its descent may 

 pass through several submarine currents of different 

 temperature. 



Lastly, an argument has been urged against the 

 warming effects of the Gulf Stream upon our climate, 

 which requires to be considered with some attention. 

 It is urged that the warmth derived from so shallow a 

 current as the Gulf Stream must be, by the time it has 

 reached our shores, could not provide an amount of 

 heat sufficient to affect our climate to any appreciable 

 extent. The mere neighbourhood of this water at a 

 temperature slightly higher than that due to the 

 latitude could not, it is urged, affect the temperature 

 of the inland counties at all. 



This argument is founded on a misapprehension of 

 the beautiful arrangement by which Nature carries heat 

 from one region to distribute it over another. Over 

 the surface of the whole current the process of eva- 

 poration is going on at a greater rate than over the 

 neighbouring seas, because the waters of the current 

 are warmer than those which surround them. The 

 vapour thus rising above the Gulf Stream is presently 

 wafted by the south-westerly winds to our shores and 





