The following excerpts (translated from German) are taken from 

 Reference 6, Section III. Ozeanographie, pages 7-9. 



"l. Water Temperature . Up to now, only observations of sur- 

 face water temperature can "be evaluated. If we start with winter 

 (February) ... we can immediately notice in numerous places tlae 

 contrast "between the Persian side and the Arabian side of the Gulf. 

 This contrast is the hasis of the essential characteristics of al- 

 most all natural conditions in the Gulf. Along the Persian coast, 

 the water in winter at the same latitude is definitely warmer than 

 along the Arabian coast. The same is also evident, to a varying 

 extent, for temperatures during the spring and fall months. Only 

 in mid-summer are all coastal zones heated more, up to 32°C. and 

 even 33° C., than the central northern part where observations 

 show 30° C. and less. The distribution of the February isotherms 

 shows clearly that warm ocean water of over 20° C. penetrates the 

 Strait of Hormuz and flows to the right (north) toward the Persian 

 coast, while on the other side, cool water of less than 15° C. from 

 Shatt al Arab bypasses the Bay of Kuwait and flows south along the 

 Arabian coast. Thus it happens that at this time off Bahrein the 

 temperature is approximately 17° C., whereas in the vicinity of 

 Lingeh, at the same geographic latitude, it is 21° C. to 21. 5° C. 

 Due to these conditions, the spreading of corals and pearls, which 

 is restricted according to different sources mainly by the northern 

 border of Cape Abu Ali, most likely depends upon the following: 

 The cooler and simultaneously less saline water of the northern 

 part of the Arabian side of the Gulf, which is also apparently 

 mixed with detrital materials of the Shatt, is unfavorable to 

 these organisms . 



"Compared with the Persian Gulf, the water of the Gulf of 

 Oman, as a part of the open ocean, seems to be relatively warm 

 during all months except for summer and part of fall. In August 

 when the Southwest Monsoon of the Arabian Sea provides strong 

 direct cooling and simultaneously also an indirect supply of cold 

 water from the lower part of the south Arabian coast up to Ras al 

 Hadd, the Gulf of Oman is considerably cooler than the closed-up, 

 shallow, and intensively heated water of the Persian Gulf. 



"The mean water temperature fluctuations, which were determined 

 from the February-August differences , . . bring out the afore- 

 mentioned difference between the two gulfs. A yearly fluctuation 

 of 15° C. to 17° C. and more in the northwest corner off Kuwait and 

 Bushire stands in contrast to a fluctuation of 8°C. at Masqat and 

 only 2°C. to 3°C. at Ras al Hadd to the southeast. The modifying 

 effect of the ocean water can still be recognized westward of the 

 Strait of Homiuz by other factors, especially the configuration of 

 the 10° C. amplitude isoline. 



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