THE RELATIONS OF THE GULF STEEAM AND THE 

 LABRADOR CURRENT 



BY 

 WILLIAM LIBBEY, JUNIOR 



The problem assigned to the writer in the fall of 1888 by 

 Colonel McDonald, the United States Commissioner of Fish and 

 Fisheries, was the study of the movements of the schools offish 

 along a portion of the Atlantic coast. These movements have 

 been a constant puzzle to the fishermen in their efforts to follow 

 the schools. 



The object of our investigation was to see if some relation 

 could not be discovered between the changes in temperature in 

 the water and the migrations of the fish which inhabit it. 



Colonel McDonald has shown that such a connection exists, 

 in his researches on the shad, and the same was found true in 

 Professor Goode's study of the menhaden. We attempted to 

 verify this on a larger scale and in a systematic manner. The 

 United States Fish Commission schooner Grampus was placed at 

 our disposal and especially equipped for the work assigned to 

 the party. 



The body of water off the New England coast was chosen be- 

 cause it was supposed that in this region the contrasts between 

 the currents would be more distinctly shown, from the fact of 

 their being forced closer together by the projection of the main- 

 land so far southeastward from its general curve. This expecta- 

 tion was realized in the course of the work. 



We aimed to cover the space lying between Block island and 

 Nantucket, and extending southward to a distance of 150 miles 

 from the land, with a network of stations which should be 10 

 miles apart in all- directions, and on which, at as regular inter- 

 vals as possible, observations were to be made. 



These observations related to the temperature and specific 

 gravity of the surface water, together with a regular hourly 



22— Nat. Geog. Mag., vol. V, 1893. (161) 



