﻿406 
  A. 
  W. 
  Buff 
  — 
  Seiches 
  on 
  the 
  Bay 
  of 
  Fundy. 
  

  

  Art. 
  XLI. 
  — 
  Seiches 
  on 
  the 
  Bay 
  of 
  Fundy 
  ;* 
  by 
  A. 
  

   Wilmer 
  Duff. 
  

  

  Reference 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  by 
  several 
  writers 
  on 
  tides 
  to 
  so- 
  

   called 
  " 
  secondary 
  undulations 
  " 
  recorded 
  by 
  self-recording 
  

   tide-gauges. 
  The 
  most 
  recent 
  mention 
  of 
  the 
  matter 
  is 
  that 
  of 
  

   Mr. 
  W. 
  Bell 
  Dawson, 
  engineer 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  the 
  Dominion 
  of 
  

   Canada 
  Tidal 
  Survey. 
  He 
  notesf 
  these 
  " 
  secondary 
  undula- 
  

   tions 
  " 
  on 
  the 
  records 
  of 
  the 
  Kelvin 
  tide-gauge 
  in 
  the 
  harbor 
  

   of 
  St. 
  John, 
  New 
  Brunswick, 
  on 
  the 
  Bay 
  of 
  Fundy. 
  " 
  They 
  

   stand," 
  says 
  Mr. 
  Dawson, 
  " 
  in 
  much 
  the 
  same 
  relation 
  to 
  the 
  

   main 
  tidal 
  wave 
  as 
  a 
  high 
  octave 
  would 
  to 
  a 
  low 
  musical 
  note, 
  

   when 
  their 
  undulations 
  are 
  recorded 
  graphically. 
  They 
  have 
  an 
  

   amplitude 
  which 
  is 
  sometimes 
  over 
  a 
  foot, 
  and 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  

   about 
  forty 
  minutes. 
  It 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  that 
  any 
  satisfactory 
  

   explanation 
  has 
  yet 
  been 
  given 
  to 
  account 
  for 
  them." 
  

  

  The 
  same 
  matter 
  came 
  to 
  my 
  attention 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  

   1896 
  in 
  such 
  a 
  way 
  as 
  to 
  suggest 
  an 
  explanation. 
  While 
  

   engaged 
  with 
  a 
  simple 
  form 
  of 
  self-recording 
  tide-gauge 
  in 
  

   making 
  some 
  tidal 
  observations 
  on 
  the 
  St. 
  John 
  River, 
  I 
  

   obtained 
  at 
  a 
  point 
  near 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  the 
  curious 
  

   trace 
  of 
  high 
  water 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  adjoining 
  figure. 
  The 
  station 
  

   at 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  obtained 
  was 
  Indiantown, 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  city 
  of 
  

   St. 
  John, 
  immediately 
  above 
  the 
  very 
  narrow 
  outlet 
  (only 
  one 
  

   hundred 
  yards 
  wide), 
  through 
  which 
  the 
  large 
  river 
  rushes 
  into 
  

   St. 
  John 
  Harbor. 
  The 
  day 
  on 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  obtained 
  (Aug. 
  

   31), 
  was 
  a 
  very 
  calm 
  one. 
  While 
  watching 
  the 
  instrument 
  

   before 
  high 
  tide 
  I 
  noticed 
  curious 
  little 
  fluctuations 
  of 
  level, 
  

   having 
  a 
  fairly 
  constant 
  period 
  of 
  thirty-five 
  seconds, 
  as 
  deter- 
  

   mined 
  by 
  a 
  stop-watch. 
  This 
  period 
  I 
  knew 
  would 
  be 
  suffi- 
  

   cient 
  to 
  enable 
  the 
  fluctuations 
  to 
  give 
  a 
  record 
  on 
  the 
  drum 
  of 
  

   the 
  instrument, 
  whereas 
  mere 
  steamer 
  waves 
  succeeding 
  each 
  

   other 
  at 
  irregular 
  intervals 
  of 
  a 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  seconds 
  could 
  not, 
  

   owing 
  to 
  the 
  smallness 
  of 
  the 
  opening 
  through 
  which 
  the 
  

   water 
  obtained 
  access 
  to 
  the 
  float, 
  give 
  any 
  such 
  trace. 
  These 
  

   35-second 
  undulations 
  show 
  themselves 
  in 
  the 
  fine 
  tracings 
  on 
  

   the 
  left 
  of 
  the 
  record. 
  But 
  what 
  was 
  quite 
  unexpected 
  was 
  

   the 
  series 
  of 
  larger 
  undulations 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  record 
  and 
  having 
  

   a 
  period 
  of 
  between 
  thirty 
  and 
  forty 
  minutes. 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  

   noticed 
  that 
  both 
  series 
  cease 
  at 
  nearly 
  the 
  same 
  time, 
  about 
  

   half 
  an 
  hour 
  after 
  high 
  water 
  at 
  Indiantown, 
  that 
  is 
  about 
  two 
  

   and 
  a 
  half 
  hours 
  after 
  high 
  water 
  in 
  St. 
  John 
  Harbor 
  (for 
  the 
  

  

  * 
  Abstract 
  of 
  a 
  paper 
  read 
  before 
  the 
  Natural 
  History 
  Society 
  of 
  New 
  Bruns- 
  

   wick, 
  

   f 
  Trans. 
  Roy. 
  Soc. 
  Can., 
  vol. 
  i, 
  1895-96. 
  

  

  

  