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 1954. The temperatures were observed primarily 

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

 Coast and Geodetic Survey, often with the cooperation of other organi- 

 zations. Final results for places in Venezuela were supplied by the 

 Ministerio de Obras Publicas, Estados llnidos de Venezuela. For other 

 countries, the ODast and Geodetic Survey derived the data from observa- 

 tions made by organization5 in the countries concerned. In Latin 

 America the observations were obtained through the cooperation of the 

 Inter American Geodetic Survey. 



Table 1 presents, monthly means and yearly mean 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: the mean of the monthly means, 

 the maximum observed, the mean of the monthly 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 wliich 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 observati ons 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 point of the sea water at the station has been used to 

 permit the computing of monthly means. This is indicated by footnotes. 



The monthly temperature summaries given in Table 2 are from records 

 of recording thermometers. The thermometer bulb at each station wa^ 

 at a fixed position just below lowest observed low water, so that 

 dxiring a day it was covered by varying amounts of tidal water. The 

 instrument record is in the form of a continuous trace; the mean values 

 are from hourly readings. When it could be done with reasonable cer- 

 tainty, highest or lowest values are shown also for months for which 

 the record was only partially complete. 



All temperatures in this publication are given in degrees Fahren- 

 heit. They can be converted to the centigrade scale by means of Table 3. 



The mean temperature curves are derived from the monthly means of 

 Table 1 and show graphically the seasonal variation for many places. 

 The unusual shape of the 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. No. 279. Density of Sea Water, Atlantic Coast , North 



and South America. 



Special Pub. No. 280. Surface Water Temperatures, Pacific Coast, 



North and South America and Pacific Ocean 

 Islands . 



Special Pub. No. 281. Density of Sea Water, Pacific Coast, North 



and South America and Pacific Ocean Islands, 



1 



