Feb, 15, 1877] 



NATURE 



343 



W. Jordan of Karlsruhe, giving the detailed results of the re- 

 searches of the expedition into the physical geography and meteor- 

 ology of this region during the winter of 1873-74. Though the 

 obseivaticns extended only over a comparatively brief period, 

 yet from their evidently high quality, the ability with which they 

 have been discussed, and the physical characteristics of the 

 region, the results thereby obtained form an exceedingly valu- 

 able contribution to meteorology. The results of the two-hourly 

 observations ihow, as regards the daily maxima and minima 

 of atmcspheric pressure that the forenoon maximum and after- 

 noon minimum are very greatly in excess of the others, and that 

 the difference between them indicates an amplitude of range in 

 accordance with that given for this region in Buchan's recently 

 publish ed charts of diurnal barometric range. The temperature 

 has a daily range of 24*''5, the maximum occurring about 3 p.m., 

 and the minimum a little before 6 a.m. The lowest observed 

 temperature was 23° in the earlier part of February, The 

 minimum of vapour tension occurs about 6 A.M., and the maxi- 

 mum about 1 1 A. M. While the mean relative humidity at Cairo 

 in winter is 65, it is only 51 in the desert, falling to 35, the mini- 

 mum at 2 P.M., the dryness of the climate being thus very great. 

 A humidity of only 17 was observed at Sandheim on February 12, 

 at 2 P.M. Rain fell from February i to 4, thunder was heard on 

 the second, and during next night o"48 inch of rain fell, soaking 

 the sand of the desert to a depth of about five inches — an amount 

 of rain of rare occurrence in the district. The prevailing winds 

 are north-westerly, those having the highest percentages being 

 W. 16, N.W. 34, and N. 27, or 77 per cent. Warm springs 

 occur in several of the oases, the highest observed being at 

 Dache), the temperature of which ranged from 92° 3 to 96°'8, or 

 about 15° above the annual mean temperature of the locality. 

 The magnetic declination was observed on January i, at ten 

 places variously situated between 25° 11', and 29° 12' kt. N., 

 and 25° 31' and 32° 34' long. E. of Greenwich, the results of 

 which, when compared with the observations of declination made 

 in 1819-20 by Cailliaud indicates an annual variation of 6''4, 

 being closely approximate to that of Central Europe. 



Height of the Seine at Paris during 1876. — In the 

 Bidleiin International of the Paris Observatory for January 13, 

 the height of the Seine is given for each day of 1876, as observed 

 at Pont de la Tournelle and Pont Royal. The zero of the scale 

 at Pont de la Tournelle is the lowest point to which the river 

 fell during the great drought of 1719. The highest flood hitherto 

 recorded measured 27 feet in 1658, and the greatest dryness 

 3-28 feet below the zero of the scale on September 29, 1865. 

 During 1876 the greatest flood was 21 feet on January 17, the 

 greatest dryness 089 foot, and the mean for the year 3 "15 feet, 

 being o"82 foot below the mean calculated by Delalande. 



Oscillations of Tides. — The meteorological Bnlletin of 

 the Brussels Observatory for January 26 calls the attention of 

 meteorologists and physicists to a remarkable perturbation in the 

 state of the sea, shown by the maregraphe of Ostende. "The 

 low-tide level on January 25," \h& Bulletin says, " was by thirty- 

 five centimetres lower than it should have been, and the high- 

 tide level in the evening was lower by sixty centimetres, as if the 

 tide were stopped in the last part of its ascending motion. 

 These depressions of the sea-level took place under quite the 

 same circumstances of wind at Ostend, as those which were ob- 

 served during an elevation of the level, on January 2. The local 

 direction of the wind, in the report, cannot be the cause of these 

 oscillations, and the true cause remains thus unknown, and well 

 deserving the full attention of meteorologists and physicists." 



Hurricane OF January 31, in Belgium and Holland. 

 — The hurricane which, accompanied by an unusally high tide, 

 visited the shores of the North Sea during the night of January 

 30-31, is reported to have done very great damage. The 



height reached by the tide at Ostend was 7 '5 metres above the 

 mean level of the sea, and the height of the waves during the 

 hurricane was about 12 metres (40 feet), the mareograph show- 

 ing fluctuations from 13' 5 to i'5 metres above zero. The tide 

 thus exceeded by about 4 feet the highest tides remembered at 

 Ostend. The embankment of the town was destroyed for a 

 length of more than 700 feet, and stones 14 feet long were 

 thrown by the waves to distances of about 40 feet. Large part; 

 of the town were inundated. At Antwerp the tide which swept 

 along the Scheldt was higher by i foot than the highest tides 

 remembered. The shores of the river were therefore inundated, 

 as well as some of the polders, which appear now as immense 

 lakes. The streets of Antwerp were covered with water i metre 

 deep ; Mechlin, Termonde, and many other places, were also 

 flooded. In Holland the ravages were not less, Rotterdam 

 was inundated, the Maas reaching a level only 6 centimetres 

 lower than that reached in 1825. Various other places in 

 Holland suffered. Numerous accounts received at the Brusse's 

 Observatory from various points of the kingdom will enable the 

 path of the hurricane to be traced with great accuracy. It is 

 worthy of notice that it took one hour and a half to go from 

 Ostend to Brussels. 



Weather Notes. — Letters received from the United States 

 on Saturday last state that the weather on the Atlantic seaboard 

 has been intensely cold; temperatures from -35° to - 40° have 

 been recorded. At Baltimore, on the 26th ult., the temperature 

 was the lowest known for many years, and the ice extended fully 

 sixty miles down Chesapeake Bay, effectually blocking the 

 harbour. Several steamers were compelled to put back, being 

 unable to force their way through the ice-fields. Seventy vessels 

 were locked in the ice twelve miles down the bay and the crews 

 were in great distress. Very heavy snow-storms are reported 

 from the west of the State of New York, by which railway 

 travelling was all but stopped. Australian letters report exceed- 

 ingly intense heat in Victoria during the month of December, the 

 temperature in the shade rising on the 15th to iio°"7 at the 

 Melbourne Observatory, and at some places in the interior, 

 ii6°'o was recorded. 



International Weather Maps.— We have the greatest 

 pleasure in noting that the system of simultaneous observations 

 of atmospheric changes for the construction of the valuable 

 weather maps issued under the direction of Gen. Myer, of 

 Washington, U.S., which is already carried practically around 

 the northern hemisphere on land, has recently received a large 

 and important expansion. A general order was issued by the 

 Navy Department, on December -25, to the commandants of 

 naval stations and commanding officers of vessels of war, direct- 

 ing meteorological observations to be taken, recorded, and for- 

 warded to the Bureau of Navigation, a particular officer being 

 designated as responsible for the duty. The observations are to 

 be of such a character as to be suitable for the preparation of 

 synoptic charts, and to embrace, whenever practicable, at least 

 atmospheric pressure, temperature, wind, rain, wet-bulb thermo- 

 meter, sea-swell, and weather daily, on board every vessel in com- 

 mission, and at every naval station of the United States at 7.35 

 a.m. Washington mean time (0.43 p.m. Greenwich mean time). 

 The Secretary of the Navy enjoins the greatest care and promp- 

 titude in the taking and recording of these observations, which 

 thus form part of the system of international meteorological 

 observations taken simultaneously, upon which the United 

 States have entered. We very earnestly hope that the navies 

 and the mercantile vessels of all civilised countries will soon 

 join in carrying out this magnificent scheme of observations 

 originated by the Americans in 1873, and since then further 

 developed and carried on by them with the highest ability and 



