OCEAN CURRENTS 179 



In the North Sea the currents are divided into two main 

 groups by the parallel of 53 N. Lat. ; hut here also the; 

 similar variations in the nature and origin of tin- water, 

 depending on the strength of the " pulsation " of the Florida 

 Current. It is difficult to take any year and describe the < 6n- 

 ditions as typical, since our observations require considerable 



Salinity of 

 Surface-water, 

 August, 1903. 



FIG. 35. NORTH SEA SALINITIES, AUGUST, 1903. 



extension before such a statement can be made. Broadly 

 speaking, water of fairly high salinity (over 35 per mille) 

 enters the North Sea both from the north and the south, and 

 the extension of this water varies in different months and again 

 from year to year. In August, 1903 (see Fig. 35), the greater 

 part of the North Sea was covered with water of salinity 

 between 34 and 35 per mille. This may be considered as 



