187.2.] 



f Shearwater 3 Scientific Researches. 



635 



equally certain ; since, unless the warm stratum is of considerable depth, it 

 could not possibly retain that excess of temperature which it carries with it 

 into high latitudes. — If any further evidence to this effect were wanting, it 

 has been supplied by the recent observations made by Yon Middendorf in 

 the Voyage of the Russian Corvette ' Warjag' between Archangel, Iceland, 

 and Nova Zembla, in the summer of 1870*; some of the most important 

 of which will now be cited : — 



a. The existence of alternating warm and cold bands, as affirmed by 

 Admiral Irminger, was confirmed. On the 17th of June, 1870, a tempe- 

 rature of 55°'6 was observed off the coast of Norway, north of 60° ; and 

 in July a temperature of 54|° was observed in N. Lat. 69|°, nearly in sight 

 of the islands off Tromso, in N. Lat. 64° in the roads of Reikiavik, and 

 in N. Lat. 61|° on the meridian of the centre of Iceland. On the other 

 hand, near the Lofoten Islands the surface-temperature fell to 4*"° ; and a 

 minimum of 42 c, l was observed in N. Lat. 64|°. 



b. The thickness of the warm stream is shown by the fact that in N. Lat. 

 G9^° and W. Long. 14°, the surface-temperature being 50 c, 7, the tempera- 

 ture at 40 fathoms was found to be still 46°'4, and at 84 fathoms 45°-5. 



c. The North-Cape stream, hardly perceptibly cooled from 54°'5, runs 

 past the White Sea and the Kanin Peninsula toward the entrance of the 

 Kara Sea ; so that in the vicinity of Kolgujev Island (N. Lat. 6S C ) there 

 are still bands which have in July nearly the same temperature. 



d. On the meridian of the Kanin Peninsula, the North-Cape stream, 

 which may be there called the Kanin stream, has a breadth of more than 

 2° of Latitude, with a range of temperature between 55° and 47°'7. 

 The higher the temperature is on the surface, the more rapidly does it 

 fall beneath it ; but at 30 fathoms it is still between 42° and 38°- 7. The 

 Kanin stream appears to divide at Nova Zembla ; its main branch going 

 onwards into the Kara Sea, whilst a side branch turns northwards along 

 the west coast of Nova Zembla. Another portion, however, striking 

 against the Kanin Peninsula, seems to turn inwards along the east coast 

 of the White Sea, the temperature of which is moderated by it (especially 

 with N.E., N., and N.W. winds) as far as Dwina Bay. The western 

 coast of the White Sea, on the other hand, is bordered by a cold stream, 

 the temperature of which is probably the local temperature corresponding 

 to the region. Thus, in passing round Cape Swatoi at the beginning of 

 July, the thermometer fell to 42°'6, and further south to 39°'9 ; whilst a 

 month later, \\° further north, on the same meridian, the temperature was 

 51°-1. 



e. It is considered by Yon Middendorf that "the Gulf-stream can 

 " still be detected at Kolgujev, not only by the temperature, but also by 

 "the blue colour and high salinity of the sea." — "We sailed there 

 " through water of so deep a violet-blue, that I was confident of finding it 

 " swarming with microscopic animalculae and plants. My astonishment 



* Geographische Mittheilungen, Jan. 1871. 



