428 



Ptyt lit* — Elcvcntli Annual Repoii 



Wick Bay. exposed to the easterly winds on the North Sea, is repre- 

 sented by a few observations in from 0 to 7 fathoms of water, made mainly 

 in the latter part of August 1887 and the beginning of August 1888. 

 The variation of temperature with depth is very slight — from nothing to 

 half a degree. There are few figures available for comparison, but, in 

 August 1887, the mean surface temperature of the water at 9 a.m. at 

 Wick was 12° -2, at Invergordon it was 14°-0, and at Oban 13° -8. In 

 July 1892 the mean at Wick was 11 0, 2, at Stornoway 9°*9, at Inver- 

 gordon 12° -3. 



Off Invergordon, Cromarty Firth. — The physical conditions of this 

 somewhat remarkable East Coast Firth have been discussed fully in 

 an earlier Report (for 1887, p. 320). Its main peculiarity is that the 

 tongue of comparatively deep water runs far into the land, shoaling 

 gradually, and not cut off from the rest of the Moray Firth by any bar 

 or bank. The average depth at the anchorage was 13 fathoms. The 

 following Table, comparing the temperature of the surface water at 9 a.m., 

 shows that, at Invergordon, the temperature was almost always lower than 

 at the West Coast Stations, except sometimes during winter when great 

 cooling was always experienced in the shallow Loch Ryan. 



Table — Comparing Mean Monthly Temperature of Surface Water 

 at 9 a.m. at Invergordon and at the Undernoted Stations. 



Date. 



Ardrishaig. 



Brodick. 



Stranraer. 



Oxcar. 



Bell Rock. 



1890. 













February, . 



-l'l 







-0-5 



-12 



July, 



+ 1-5 



+ 0-7 





+ 2*4 



+ T6 



August, 



-0-2 



-0-6 





+ 1-8 



+ 0'4 



September, 



+ 07 



+ 0-2 







+ 0-5 



October, . 



-1-3 



-1-7 





+ 1-5 



-0-9 



November, 



+ 0-2 



-0-4 





+ 2-2 



-0-2 



December, 



-1-4 



-2-9 







-2-5 



1891. 













January, . 



-1-2 



-2-6 



-07 





-1-4 



February, . 



-2-0 



-17 



-2-5 





-0-4 



March, 



-0-4 



-0-3 



-1-6 



+ i'-2 



+ 0-7 



April, 



-0-3 





+ 0-4 



+ 0-9 





September, 



-o-i 



-0-4 



-1-0 



-0-7 



-0-3 



October, . 



-1*2 



-1-8 



-l'l 



-1-6 



-1-9 



December, 





-2-1 



+ 0'9 



+ 07 



-0-4 



1892. 













February, . 



-3-5 



-3'2 



-1-5 



-1-3 



-2-2 



July, 



+ 0-4 



+ 0-1 



-2-0 



+ ro 



+ 1-8 



August, 



+ 2-0 



+ 1-5 



-0-5 



+ 1-8 



+ 2-9 



October, . 



-0-4 



-0-6 



+ 1-3 



+ 0-3 



-0-8 



December, 



rifl 



-1-3 



+ 1-8 



+ 07 



-o-i 



+ means that the temperature at Invergordon was higher than that of other Stations. 

 - that it was lower. 



The Cromarty Firth water was, however, considerably warmer than 

 that at Oxcar, in the Firth of Forth, except on a very few occasions. It 

 was usually warmer than the Bell Rock in summer and colder in winter, 



