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Part III. — Thirteenth Annual Report 



SECTION C. —PHYSICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



I.— REPORT ON PHYSICAL OBSERVATIONS CARRIED ON BY 

 THE FISHERY BOARD FOR SCOTLAND DURING 1893. 

 By Andrew J. Herbertson, F.R.G.S. 



GENERAL. 



The year 1893 is one of special interest from a meteorological point of 

 view, and we find that its peculiarities are also shown, though in a less 

 degree, in the variations of the conditions of the water around our coasts. 

 In the early weeks the weather was so cold that the temperature of the sea 

 sank very low, and at one of the west coast stations fell below the freez- 

 ing point. The spring and summer months were warm, and the sudden 

 uprush of temperature from an unusually low to an unusually high value 

 was a marked characteristic of the spring, while most of the stations 

 show a series of maxima corresponding to periods of excessively warm 

 weather. But while the extremes of the temperature are greater than 

 usual, the average temperature of the surface water for the year is near 

 the mean value derived from observations of the past years since the 

 Fishery Board instituted these observations. In this respect it agrees 

 with 1891, from which, however, it differs in the lowness of its minimum 

 and the high value of its maximum temperatures. The year 1893 was 

 much warmer than 1892, but somewhat cooler than 1890. 



The following table gives a summary of the leading results, and may 

 be compared with these published in previous reports : — 



Temperature of Surface Water, 1893. 



STATION. 



Annual Mean. 



Monthly Mean, 



9 A.M. 



Day. 



9 A.M. 



3 P.M. 



Max. 



Min. 



Range. 



M*x. 



Min. 



Range. 



East Coast — 



















Bell Rock, 



8-5 



8-6 



13-2 



4-5 



87 



15-5 



4-0 



11-5 



North Carr, 







12-2 ? 



3-6 



8-6 ? 



14-6 ? 



2-8 



11-8 ? 



Abertay, . 



8 : 2 



8 : 5 



13-5 



37 



9-8 



16-1 



2 5 



13-6 



Oxcar, 



8-7 



9-0 



13-9 



3-4 



10-5 



15-6 



22 



13-4 



West Coast — 



















Stranraer, 







16-5 



3-3 



13 2 



17-2 



1-0 



l«-2 



West Loch Tarbert, 







17-0 



54 



11-6 



20-4 



10 



19-4 



Brodick,* 



9 : 8 



lo-i 



14-5 



5-7 



8-8 



174 



4-2 



13-2 



Ardrishaig,f . 







13-6 







15-9 



under 



















zero 





Carlo way,:}: 







14-8 







19-6 







* 10 A.M. and 4 P.M. 



f Observations iu early months uncertain when below zero. 

 X Carloway, no observations at beginning of year. 



