(391 



here lo the more stagnant Nvater, tlie surface of whicli may l)e some- 

 wliat cooled at a low temperature of the air, whereas the water of 

 the open sea and of the sounds is constantly renewed by the strong 

 current and mixed with the lower water-layers, so that it does not 

 have time to be cooled to any degree worth mentioning. The algae 

 growing in deep water live consequently at more uniform tempera- 

 tures than those growing in shallow water. 



Near the shore among the seaweeds and in tide pools, the sun 

 of course may warm the water to a considerable extent, so as to 

 make it almost lukewarm; thus in a somewhat large water-basin 

 at Skuo, 25^ C. was observed on June 11th, 1900, and in smaller pools 

 the temperature may certainly rise still higher. 



As to the salinity, it varies, as already remarked, according to 

 whether the Salter water of the Atlantic Ocean (above 35,25 Voo) or 

 the less salt water of the Polar Current reaches the coasts; the 

 difference however is never very great. 



Fresh water streams into the sea from almost all parts of the 

 Fseroese coasts, but on account of the strong oceanic currents it 

 has hardly any effect in comparison with the large volume of cir- 

 culating seawater, and as a rule it is only of local importance to 

 the growth of algae at the outlets of brooks and waterfalls. But at 

 the bottom of larger fjords, where the water is more seldom re- 

 newed, the fresh water from the land is perceptible to a greater 

 extent, and here the water often becomes more or less brackish. 

 This has no small influence on the algal vegetation, wdiich in these 

 places is extremely poor in species. 



b. Tides. Oceanic Currents. 



Tides occur almost everywhere on the coasts of the Faeroes. 

 The difference between high and low tide is not great, as the tide 

 does not rise to anything like the heights reached on the coasts 

 of Norway and Scotland. 



On the western side of the islands, where the tidal wave is 

 strongest, the difference between ebb and flood will at most amount 

 to 8 — 10 feet during the spring-tides, on the eastern side to hardly 

 more than 4 — 5 feet. 



The accompanying observations on the tides, made in the sum- 

 mer of 1900 and kindly placed at my disposal by the officers of 

 the »Guldborgsund« further illustrate this. The observations extend 



