TEMPERATURES. 239 
of the island of Eleuthera, the temperature appears to fall fully 
as fast. This would indicate that the whole mass of water be- 
tween the Bermudas and the eastern shore of the Atlantic coast 
of the United States is moving northward under similar ther- 
mic conditions, disturbed only by the cold stream which forces 
itself southward from George’s Bank, along the edge of the 
continental shelf, the exact limits of which are not yet ascer- 
tained. 
The presence of a large body of cold water close to the east 
coast of New England * and the Middle States is shown by an 
examination of the sections which extend from the vicinity of 
Cape Hatteras to the northeastern end of George's Bank. The 
surface waters become gradually warmer as we pass to the east- 
ward, rising, from temperatures of 55° at the surface and 42° at 
a depth of 71 fathoms, to a surface temperature of 68° and 
a bottom temperature of 38° at a depth of 980 fathoms. A 
similar but somewhat less inérease in surface temperatures is 
traced in the lines run off Newport, of from 70° to 72°, and 
off Montauk, of from 74° to 76°, in passing from 129 to 1,394 
fathoms, with bottom temperatures of 51° and 38°. Off Cape 
May the difference at the surface is still less, 77° to 78° while 
falling from a depth of 89 to 1,200 fathoms, with bottom tem- 
peratures of 56° and 39°. On the line immediately north of 
1 The recent explorations of the United 
States Fish Commission cover a belt about 
160 miles long and from 10 to 25 miles 
wide, along the coast of southern New 
England, at a distance of 80 and 110 
miles from the coast line, in depths be- 
tween 65 and 700 fathoms. The sound- 
ings and dredgings show the southern 
continuation of the inshore cold belt, as 
well as the warm belt outside of it, and 
the cold deep-water belt. Professor Ver- 
rill says, speaking of the Gulf Stream 
slope: “The bottom along the upper 
part of this slope and the outermost por- 
tion of the adjacent plateau, in 65 to 150 
fathoms, and sometimes to 200 fathoms 
or more, is bathed by the waters of the 
Gulf Stream. Consequently, the tem- 
perature of the bottom water along this 
belt is decidedly higher than it is along 
the shallower part of the plateau nearer 
the shore, in 30 to 60 fathoms. The Gulf 
Stream. itself is usually limited in depth 
to about 150 fathoms, and often even less, 
in this region ; below this, the temper- 
ature steadily decreases to the bottom of 
the ocean basin, becoming about 38°-37° 
in 1,000 to 1,500 fathoms, and falling to 
37°-35° in 1,500 to 2,500 fathoms. We 
may, therefore, properly call the upper 
part of the slope, in about 65 to 150 fath- 
oms, the warm belt. According to our 
observations, the bottom temperature of 
the warmer part of this belt, in 65 to 125 
fathoms, is usually between 47° and 53° 
Be- 
tween 150 and 250 fathoms, the temper- 
atures, though variable, are usually high 
enough to show more or less influence 
from the Gulf Stream.” 
F. in summer and early autumn. 
