91 



drawn of the circulation in the ice regions indicate a close agreement 

 between the calculated currents (velocity and direction) and the 

 actual drifts of bergs at the time and place. Dynamic oceanography 

 provides an easy and efficient means for mapping currents over exten- 

 sive ocean surfaces, which guarantees it wide employment in future 

 hydrographical surveys. If properly employed on ice patrol, more- 

 over, it promises some day to vindicate the belief of the members of 

 the London Convention which established the ice patrol, viz. : 



Skilled navigators and scientists are confident, partly as a result of Arctic and 

 Anarctic explorations of recent years, that a thorough study and observation of 

 ice conditions and formation, and of the Labrador current and other currents, 

 the natural laws governing the formation and the movements of ice in the North 

 Atlantic maj' be determined, at least to the extent of permitting approximate 

 forecasts, similar to recent meteorological forecasts, which will contribute to safer 

 ocean navigation. 



If we steam the patrol vessel over the critical ice area, taking 

 observations of the salinity and temperature at selected places, the 

 data thus collected furnish the material for calculating the direction 

 and velocity of the currents. - 



la:/ NE^FO\>t^aLM:D; 



- 45 



.59 36 37 Sb 55 SA -Si, SZ 



Fig. 28.— Chart of oocanographic stations occupied in 1926 

 STATION WORK PERFORMED IN 1926 



The 1926 ice season marked the first attempts to employ the scien- 

 tific methods explained in United States Treasury Bulletin No. 14, 



2 Smith, Edward H.: A Practical Method for Determining Ocean Currents. U. S. Treas. Dept. Bull. 

 No. 14, 1925. 



• 32036—27 7 



