OCEANOGRAPHY 



The General Greene was equipped with all the ice patrol's oceano- 

 graphic instruments and the intention was that during the ice season 

 the vessel should make regular oceanograpliic surveys about the 

 Grand Banks. Based upon the observations, maps of the dynamic 

 circulation were to be constructed for the benefit of the larger ice 

 patrol vessels. 



The ice season was, however, as mentioned earlier, extraordinary, 

 only 13 different icebergs drifting south of the 48tli parallel. There- 

 fore, the large ice patrol cutters were not called upon to go out, and 

 the routine ice patrol work was taken care of by the General Greene. 

 Under these circumstances very little oceanograpliic work could be 

 accomplished during the first four cruises because of necessary scout- 

 ing for ice and watching the drift of the southernmost bergs. 



The fifth cruise of the General Greene, however, was primarily an 

 oceanographic one, and on this cruise 48 oceanograpliic stations 

 arranged in eight sections were occupied. Observations of tempera- 

 ture and salinity were made at 14 different levels from the surface to 

 a depth of 2,000 meters. 



On the sixth cruise of the General Greene, between July 4 and August 

 12, 122 additional oceanographic stations were occupied. Most of 

 these stations were arranged in sections across the Labrador current 

 in the waters between Newfoundland and Labrador and southwest 

 Greenland. On the sixth cruise 1,800 well-located soundings were 

 taken with the fathometer. The track and the stations of the General 

 Greene on the fifth and sixth cruises are shown on Figures 26 and 27. 

 The large amount of scientific material gathered during these two 

 cruises will be worked up as soon as practicable and published, mainly 

 in Coast Guard Bulletin 19, part 2, in connection with the oceano- 

 graphic results of the Marion expedition of 1928. 



In the present bulletin will be found only the results of the oceano- 

 graphic observations taken occasionally during the first four cruises 

 of 1931. The oceanographic table, made in the usual way, contains 

 the 13 early-season stations. Seven of these are located in line from 

 north of Flemish Cap to St. John's, and on Figure 28 the temperature 

 and sahnity distribution in the vertical section along this line is shown. 

 Station 1159 was taken on April 1, and station 1164 on April 4, 1931. 



On each water bottle two reversing thermometers were used. The 

 thermometers were always allowed three minutes or more at the 

 depths of observation before they were reversed and all readings were 

 made by help of a magnifying glass. The salinities were determined 

 on board with the electrical salinometer. Each sample was only 



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