near the head of the emhayment. The freshest water, which inciden- 

 tally exceeds the average salinity of water in the open ocean hy 

 more than 2^t, , was observed in the very shallow water immediately 

 west of Jazirat Faylakah. Apparently brackish drainage water from 

 Khawr as Sabiniyan and/ or Shatt al Arab reaches the area here and 

 reduces the gulf surface salinity from its normal value of about 

 h^fao to about 38X- Even though rainfall is meager in this area 

 (ij- to 11 inches annually), most of the precipitation can be expected 

 during the months of January and February. It is reasonable then 

 to expect salinities in the extreme eastern portion of Kuwait Harbor 

 (in the vicinity of Jazirat Faylakah) to be reduced slightly below 

 the indicated surface values which were observed during a period of 

 no rainfall. Salinities of 39X or less extending into Kuwait Harbor 

 would be most tmusual, because the tides produce strong currents 

 between Ras al Ardh and Jazirat Faylakah that effectively mix the 

 surface waters every few hours . 



"As would be expected salinity values at depth are nearly the 

 same or slightly higher than the surface values. Even the greatest 

 difference between the surface and bottom is hardly significant; at 

 the harbor entrance (Station 12) a gradient of only .\%a is observed 

 through a 12-foot depth." 



52 



