To establish continuity between the descrip- 

 tive data concerning the Georges Bank phyto- 

 plankton populations based on cruise data and 

 mathematical concepts based on assumptions 

 about plankton physiology, Riley (1946) de- 

 veloped multiple correlation equations at which 

 variations in the horizontal distribution of 

 plant pigments during each of the 1939-40 

 cruises are calculated according to variations 

 in depth, temperature, phosphate, nitrate, and 

 zooplankton. Thus, it is possible to determine 

 the amount of variation in phytoplankton crop 

 obtained by varying any one or all of these 

 environmental factors. He evaluated also the 

 seasonal cycle of phytoplankton from a more 

 theoretical standpoint and derived an equation 

 expressing the seasonal rate of change of the 

 phytoplankton population. 



Using data from the 1939-41 Georges Bank 

 cruises, Clarke (1946) illustrated an applica- 

 tion of the basic concepts of productivity 

 (standing crop, material removed, and pro- 

 duction rate) to a marine area. His diagrams 

 illustrate the interrelations between the proc- 

 esses of production, consumption, and decom- 

 position at the various levels of the ecological 

 complex. He presented values for the standing 

 crop and the net production of phytoplankton 

 and zooplankton and discussed the controlling 

 influence of light and currents. He compared 

 values for the yield of the commercial catch 

 of fish with yields from fresh-water and 

 terrestrial areas. 



Riley (1947) made a theoretical analysis of 

 the seasonal cycle of zooplankton on Georges 

 Bank. He established an equation in which 

 the rate of change of the herbivore population 

 in respect to time equals the difference be- 

 tween the rate of assimilation of organic 

 material by feeding on phytoplankton and the 

 rate of dissipation by respiration, predation, 

 and other losses. He assigned numerical 

 values to the constants in the equation, and 

 constructed a theoretical curve for the herbi- 

 vore seasonal cycle which generally agreed 

 with the observed population. 



The final paper to be published on the 

 1939-41 Georges Bank surveys was a study 

 of the distribution of the larger plankton 

 Crustacea (amphipods, euphausiids, mysids, 

 and decapods), based on oblique stramin net 

 and plankton sampler tows (Whiteley, 1948). 

 He gave a detailed account of the abundance, 

 distribution, and species composition of the 

 predominating species, and discussed the ef- 

 fects of drift, temperature, and depth on dis- 

 tribution. 



During World War II, WHOI personnel en- 

 gaged principally in studies for the Navy. 

 During the postwar years, they shifted em- 

 phasis from studies of shallow- water circula- 

 tion to the study of deep water current systems. 

 The only other oceanographic surveys under- 

 taken in the Gulf of Maine by WHOI during the 

 1940's were in connection with a study of 



shallow- water benthonic Foraminifera off 

 Portsmouth, N.H., during the summer of 1946. 

 The area covered extended from Ipswich Bay 

 to Portsmouth and to approximately 30 miles 

 offshore on the north and 18 miles offshore 

 to the south. Over 700 bottom samples were 

 obtained in a gridwork of stations spaced 

 approximately 1 mile apart. Phleger (1952) 

 discussed the distribution and ecology of 

 the Foraminifera in the area, and Parker 

 (1952) described the species of Fora- 

 minifera. 



Using the newly commissioned Albatross III, 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1948 initiated 

 surveys of the populations of groundfish on 

 the New England fishing banks. During these 

 cruises, data were obtained on the distribution 

 and abundance of the various species of ground- 

 fish and other bottom fauna and the distribu- 

 tion of temperature and bottom sediments. 

 Using data collected on Albatross III cruises 

 made in the summers of 1948 and 1949 and 

 in the spring of 1950, Colton (1955) analyzed 

 the distribution of haddock (Melanogrammus 

 aeglefinus) on Georges Bank by age, area, 

 depth, and bottom type. The age composition 

 and the abundance of haddock varied markedly 

 with location, depth, and season. During the 

 summer, few haddock of any age were found 

 in the area bounded by the 60- and 90-fathom 

 contours separating the shallow bank water 

 and the deeper water of the Gulf of Maine 

 basin. Haddock occurred in greater numbers 

 over sand than over mud bottoms, but this 

 distribution was incidental to the depth dis- 

 tribution. 



Chase (1955) established an empirical for- 

 mula for predicting the brood strength of 

 Georges Bank haddock which used geostrophic 

 wind data from February through April and 

 Nantucket winter air temperatures. He based 

 the brood strength estimate on the commer- 

 cial catch of 3-year-old haddock. He assigned 

 "damage counts" for offshore components of 

 wind beginning on a date 18 days after the 

 minimum Nantucket air temperature. With 

 a few exceptions, there was good agreement 

 between the actual and indicated brood strength 

 data for the years 1928-51. 



Using monthly observations at three dif- 

 ferent layers (0-25 m., 25-75 m., and 75-90 m.) 

 obtained at a station in the outer Quoddy Re- 

 gion from 1924 to 1952, Bailey, MacGregor, 

 and Hachey (1954) analyzed the annual varia- 

 tions of temperature and salinity in the Bay 

 of Fundy. They showed normal temperature, 

 salinity, and T-S curves for the three different 

 layers. The normal annual range of tempera- 

 ture was 10° C. for the surface layer and 

 8.6° C. for the bottom layer, and the normal 

 annual range of salinity was from 31.1 to 

 32.5 / 00 for the surface layer and from 31.9 

 to 32.8%o for the bottom layer. The stability 

 of the water column reached two maxima, one 

 in May and the other in August. 



