CLYDE SEA AREA. 



713 



Leaving out of account the Cuill observations on account of the small salinity of the 

 water, and ignoring the September readings, which are almost certainly too low, the 

 previous table may be condensed into the summary presented in Table XXXVIII. 



Table XXXVLTI. — Amended Means of Sulphuric and Carbonic Acids for Stations on the 



Clyde Sea Area. 













Surface. 



Bottom. 



Station. 



No. of 







No. of 









Observa- 



S0 3 ratio. 



C0 2 ratio. 



Observa- 



S0 3 ratio. 



C0 2 ratio. 





tions. 







tions. 







Strachur, ..... 



3 



011736 



0-1490 



3 



0-11741 



0-1491 



Gortans, . 











2 



0-11746 



0-1455 



2 



0-11787 



0-1458 



Clapochlar, 











2 



0-11741 



0-1448 



2 



0-11785 



0-1545 



Ormidale, 











1 



0-11746 



0-1451 



1 



0-11704 



0-1502 



Stuclcbeg, 











4 



0-11782 



01501 



4 



0-11736 



0-1474 



Thornbank, 







» 





3 



0-11747 



0-1466 



2 



0-11748 



0-1462 



Holy Loch, 











1 



0-11648 



0-1482 



1 



0-11728 



0-1420 



Gareloch, . 











3 



0-11762 



0-1506 



3 



0-11697 



0-1487 



Gantock, . 











4 



0-11774 



0-1546 



4 



0-11797 



0-1473 



Skate Island, 











4 



0-11778 



0-1510 



5 



011734 



0-1439 



Carradale, 











5 



0-11738 



0-1459 



5 



0-11783 



0-1495 



Plateau and Channel, 

 Mean Landward, . 







3 



0-11775 



0-1445 



4 



0-11759 



0-1471 



23 



0-11753 



0-1492 



22 



011751 



0-1480 



Mean Seaward, 







12 



0-11760 



0-1472 



14 



0-11759 



0-1468 



Mean over all, 







35 



0-11756 



0-1485 



36 



0-11754 



0-1475 



Results of Chemical Work — In Table XXXVIII. the depth is again seen to have 

 little or no determining influence on the distribution of sulphates, while the higher 

 alkalinity of surface waters in all, or nearly all, cases is brought out conspicuously. No 

 definite geographical distribution of sulphates can be traced ; the water of the Plateau 

 and Channel are seemingly as rich in sulphates as many of the lochs. The very high 

 proportion of sulphates in the surface water of Loch Goil could be explained by the 

 exceptionally high ratio of its catchment area to its surface, but the exceptionally low 

 ratio at the bottom is against this theory; while the single observation in the Holy 

 Loch, which has a still greater catchment area for rain, shows an exactly opposite effect. 

 The Landward portion of the area, as a whole, seems to contain slightly less than the 

 Seaward portion, which is a very unexpected result. It indicates that in the river 

 water draining into the Clyde Sea Area the ratio of sulphates to chlorides in solution is 

 no higher than in the nearly pure sea water of the North Channel. Or it may be taken 

 as a proof that evaporation is a much less potent factor than tidal action in effecting 

 the circulation of water in the loch-basins, a result at which the salinity observations also 

 hinted. Supposing the rivers entering the Clyde Sea Area to carry in as large a propor- 



VOL. XXXVI. PART III. (NO. 23). 5 O 



