234 Dr. W. B. Carpenter on Physical Investigations [June 15^ 



to 45° taking place Trithin 50 fathoms, and to 40° within 300 ; whereas 

 in Lat. 59° 35' N., Long. 9° 11' W. we had found the isotherm of 

 45° lying below 500 fathoms, while the bottom at 767 fathoms was 

 still 41°-4. It is obvious moreover, from the regularity of the descent or 

 the isotherm of 40° in this part of the INTorth Atlantic, that easting has 

 more influence on the rate of that descent than southing — thus confirming 

 the view formerly expressed as to the tendency of the warm upper flow 

 towards the eastern side of the basin *. The isotherms of 39° and 38° slope 

 downwards towards the east at about the same rate ; but those of 37° 

 and 36° still nearly keep their parallelism to the surface, confirming the 

 previous suggestion of the " neutrality " of the deep stratum which they 

 underlie. 



Between the last station and the next (Plate 2. Station 13), taken in 

 Lat. 56° 1' N. and Long. 34° 42' W., in the line of the channel between 

 Iceland and Greenland, but considerably to the south of it, the sea-bed 

 was found to have shallowed most remarkably (Plate 4. 'No. XJ.IL), 

 bottom being struck at 690 fathoms, and the bottom-temperature rising 

 again to 38°-2. This elevation may be regarded vdth. great probability 

 as a continuation of that which was encountered by Sir L. M'^Clintock 

 in the line of temperature-soundings which he took several years ago 

 across the Xorth Atlantic between Ho ckall and Cape Farewell; for almost 

 exactly in a line between the ' Valorous ' Station 13 and Iceland, Sir L. 

 M'^Clintock met with bottom at 743 fathoms, between 1260 fathoms on 

 the east and 1159 fathoms on the west. 



The course being now again kept nearly due east, another temperature- 

 sounding (Plate 2. Station 14, Plate 4. No. XIY.) was obtained in Lat. 55° 

 58' N., Long. 31° 41' W., which, on a bottom of 1230 fathoms, gave a 

 bottom-temperature of 36°-8, the surface-temperature being 54°'5. Three 

 degrees further east, and on the same parallel (PI. 2. Station 15), another 

 set of serial temperatures was taken (Plate 4. No. XY.) which indicated 

 a further increase in the upper warm stratum, the isotherm of 40° de- 

 scending to about 380 fathoms ; but the depths of the isotherms of 39°, 

 38°, and 37° show little change ; and the bottom at 1485 fathoms was 

 36°-5, as at the corresponding depth on the other side of the ridge. Still 

 further to the east (Plate 2. Station 16, Plate 4. No. XYI.), in Lat. 55° 10' 

 N., Long. 25° 58' W., the depth was found to have still further increased 

 to 1785 fathoms ; but the bottom showed no lower a temperature than 

 36°'7, although in the 1750 fathoms sounding on the other side of the 

 ridge the thermometer fell to more than three degrees loiuer. 



Bad weather having come on, it was not considered prudent, in the 

 disabled condition of the ship, to attempt further scientific explorations ; 

 and the course was accordingly shaped for Cork. 



The Temperature-Section prepared from the serial soundings taken in the 

 ' Yalorous ' after quitting Davis Strait has been continued towards Ya- 

 ^ Shearwater Scientific Eesearches, 1872, §§ 144, 148 (Proc. Eoy. Soc. xx. pp. 624, 626). 



