PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY OF THE GULF OF MAINE 
861 
current measurements were taken. 64 Mavor (1922, p. 109) has already emphasized 
the inward movement thus indicated around Nova Scotia and so into the eastern 
side of the Gulf of Maine. The drift to the westward past Cape Sable is shown to 
be irregular, however, and perhaps intermittent, for a very rapid dominant drift 
toward the west of about 12 miles per day, at Dawson’s station R in the offing of 
Cape Sable, contrasts with contrary and much weaker resultant currents at two local- 
ities nearby (Dawson’s stations P and Q). In the same way the water in the offing 
of Shelburne was setting strongly in toward the shore on June 25 to 29, 1907, showed 
no dominant drift in any direction at a neighboring station two weeks later, 65 but 
was drifting toward the southwest at a rate of about 8 miles per day on July 27 to 
28, 1914 (Bigelow, 1917, p. 203, station 10231; current measurements at 6 meters 
depth with Ekman current meter). 
The most that can be said is that the current arrows show some movement to 
the westward past the cape at times during the summer. 
The general tendency northward along the western shores of Nova Scotia, toward 
the Bay of Fundy, is decidedly impressive, because not one of the arrows, as calcu- 
lated from Dawson’s tables (1908), runs counter to this rule, the only exceptions 
being two (his stations L and M), which point almost directly in toward the land. 
The arrows also show the water drifting into the Bay of Fundy along its southern 
(Nova Scotian) side, then turning northward toward New Brunswick and out again 
to the eastward and southward of Grand Manan. In the channel on the northern 
side of the latter, however, the water has been found to set inward toward the Bay 
of Fundy, suggesting a clockwise circulation around Grand Manan, which corrobo- 
rates the local report that the flood current predominates over the ebb along the 
eastern part of the coast of Maine (Coast Pilot). 
It is unfortunate that no measurements of currents are available for any points 
between the Bay of Fundy, on the east, and Portland lightship, to the west, for the 
tides run strong along this sector of the coast line. 
At Portland lightship the currents are weak but slightly rotary (United States 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1923, p. 69). 
The Coast and Geodetic Survey has supplied the following statement of the 
dominant (nontidal) set for several 29-day series at this location (lat. 43° 31 ' 30," 
long. 70° 05' 38"). 
Duration of series 
Rate per 
day (24 
hours) 
in miles 
Direction 
Duration of series 
Rate per 
day (24 
hours) 
in miles 
Direction 
Oct. 3-31, 1913 
11.3 
9.6 
11.3 
4.3 
S. 67° W. 
S. 31° E. 
S. 11° W. 
S. 36° W. 
July 1-29, 1919 
2.4 
2.2 
.5 
1.7 
N. 62° E. 
S. 74° W. 
N. 47° E. 
N. 58° E. 
Nov. 1-29, 1913 
Aug. 1-29', 1919 
Nov. 30-Dec. 28, 1913 - 
Sept. 1-29, 1919. 
June 1-29, 1919... 
Oct. 1-29, 1919 
t4 So far as I have been able to learn, the only winter measurements made in the Gulf of Maine have been at Nantucket 
Bhoals Lightship and one Albatross station off Gloucester (station 20051, p. 857). 
t5 The resultant drifts for these two stations (Dawson, 1905 and 1908, statations S and T) are taken from Mavor’s chart (1922, 
PI. IV). 
8951—28 55 
