INTRODUCTION 



The summaries of sea water temperatures presented in this publi- 

 cation are based on observations made in Atlantic harbor and coastal 

 waters through the year 1950. The temperatures were observed primarily 

 at tide stations which, in the United States, were maintained by the 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey, often withthe cooperation of other organi- 

 zations. Final results for the Canal Zone were supplied by the Meteor- 

 ological and Hydrographic Branch, The Panama Canal Company, and for 

 Venezuela by the Ministerio de Obras Publicas, Estados Unidos de 

 Venezuela. For other count ries, the Coast andGeodetic Survey derived 

 the data from observations made by organi zations in the countries con- 

 cerned. In Latin America the observations were obtained through the 

 cooperation of the Inter American Geodetic Survey. 



Table 1 presents monthly means andyearly means and extremes for 

 each year of observations. For each station at which the series of 

 observations covered two or more years, there are also given the 

 following monthly values for the series: themean of themonthly means, 

 the maximum observed, the mean of themonthly maxima, the mean of the 

 monthly minima, and the minimum observed. 



When an asterisk accompanies an annual extreme in either of the 

 two right hand columns of Table 1, it indicates that the extreme might 

 have been exceeded if observations had been available for all months 

 in which the maximum or minimum normally occurs. If observations are 

 not available for any month in which the yearly maximum or minimum 

 might occur, the extreme has been omitted. 



These data are based upon thermometer readings made in a sample 

 of water drawn by bucket from a foot or two below the surface. The 

 observations are usually made once each weekday at whatever time the 

 observer attends the tide gage, and it may be assumed that in the course 

 of a month or a year the distribution of observations is fairly uniform 

 over all phases of the tide. For days when ice prevented the drawing 

 of samples at some North American stations, the temperature of the 

 normal freezing poinv, of the sea water at the station has been used to 

 permit the computing of monthly means. Thi s is indicated by footnotes. 



Table 2 shows mean bihourly temperatures and series means and 

 extremes by months. They have been derived from a continuous trace 

 made by recording thermometers. At stations within the United States, 

 the thermometer bulbs were fixed just below the lowest observed low 

 water, so that during a day they were covered by varying amounts of 

 tidal wa*:er. At stations in the Canal Zone, the bulbs were kept about 

 three feet below the surface of the water. 



All temperatures in this publication are given in degrees Fahren- 

 heit. They can be converted to the centigrade scale by means of Table 

 3 which is on the inside back cover. 



Mean temperature variations during themonth and year andmonthly 

 extreme temperatures from Table 1 are shown graphically for a number 

 of places. The unusual shape of the temperature curves for Daytona 

 Beach and Canova Beach reflects the upwelling that occurs along this 

 section of the coast during the summer months. 



The following publications complete this series: 



Special Pub. 279. Density of Sea Water, Atlantic Coast. 

 Special Pub. 280. Surface Water Temperatures, Pacific Ocean. 

 Special Pub. 201. Density of Sea Water, Pacific Ocean. 



