Oceanographic and Meteorological Aspects 
of the Gulf of California 1 
Gunnar 
The primary object of the present paper is 
to give an adequate description of the cli- 
matic and oceanographic conditions in the 
Gulf as they are known today. 
Only a few authors have discussed the 
Gulf (Sverdrup, 1940; Osorio Tafall, 1944) 
and only the geological work was described 
in detail (Anderson, 1950; Durham, 1950; 
Natland, 1950; Revelle, 1950; Shephard, 
1950). 
The data used in the present investigation 
are largely taken from the "E. W. Scripps” 
expeditions in 1939 (Sverdrup and staff, 1943) 
and from the publications of the Servicio 
Meteorologico Mexicano, the U. S. Coast and 
Geodetic Survey, and the U. S. Hydrographic 
Office. 
The data for the Gulf are few and the con- 
clusions that can be drawn from them are 
necessarily limited and should be taken only 
as a first approximation until more and better 
data are at hand. 
The Gulf of California is of considerable 
interest both scientifically and economically, 
1 Contribution of the Scripps Institution of Ocean- 
ography, New Series, No. 960. The work reported on 
herein represents results of research sponsored in part 
by the Office of Naval Research under contract with 
the University of California. Manuscript received July 
24 , 1956 . 
I. Roden 
and it is expected that its importance will 
steadily increase in the future, especially as an 
additional food source for Mexico. A thor- 
ough knowledge of the physical and chemical 
changes taking place in the Gulf is essential 
to the understanding of its fisheries. 
Moreover, the Gulf is interesting because 
it represents the only large evaporation basin 
of the Pacific Ocean and because it shows 
certain differences from other comparable 
evaporation basins. A final answer to all the 
different problems in the Gulf cannot be 
expected from the meager data available but 
it is the hope of the author that this paper 
may stimulate more research in this intriguing 
area. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
The author is indebted to Dr. Warren S. 
Wooster and Dr. Robert S. Arthur for valu- 
able help and suggestions that made this 
study possible, to Mr. Joseph L. Reid, Jr., 
Dr. F. Phleger, and Miss June G. Pattullo for 
reading the manuscript, to Mr. Townsend 
Cromwell for a discussion on a definition of 
a front, and to Sr. Enrique Avila for advice 
on the writing of Spanish place names and 
other terms. The author also wishes to express 
his thanks to those who have helped him to 
prepare the drawings. 
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