IV . DISCUSSION OF TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY DATA 



A. Upper Persian Gulf 



Data were col leered in the upper Persian Gulf during the February and March 

 1960 survey (Fig. 1). Surface temperatures decreased to the north, whereas sur- 

 face salinities increased to the north to approximately 29° North Latitude. In 

 this region water from the rivers entering the Gulf slightly affected the salinity. 

 At all stations, water samples had extremely high salinities (38.96% to 41 .56%^; 

 82 percent of the 248 samples analyzed had salinities greater than 40.00% . Pro- 

 files of selected stations in the upper Persian Gulf (Figs. 4 and 5) show the general 

 temperature and salinity distribution; Table 4 shows the maximum and minimum 

 temperatures and salinities of time serial observations. 



B. Lower Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman 



During January and February 1961, data collected gave higher surface tem- 

 peratures and lower surface salinities in the Strait of Hormuz and the upper Gulf 

 of Oman than in the Persian Gulf; In general, temperatures and salinities increased 

 with depth . Temperature and salinity profiles along selected stations in the area 

 (Figs. 6 and 7) show the distribution of these physical properties, and Tables 5 and 

 6 show the maximum and minimum temperature and salinity at the surface and bot- 

 tom for time serial observations . 



Temperature and salinity data taken at Station 26 Cruise 00658 and Station 3 

 Cruise 00865 (Figs. 1 and 2), Latitude 27°16'N and Longitude 51°56'E on 23 Feb- 

 ruary 1960 and 27 January 1961, are compared. Figure 8 shows the temperature 

 and salinity graphs for the two observations. Temperatures at all depths varied by 

 less than .2°C, and salinities generally agreed except at the 30-meter level . 



