Paa et Kart, hvor denne Axe Å B afsattes, optegnedes 
der betegne de af Vinden fremkaldte Overflade- 
strømmes sandsynlige Retning. Denne bestemmes i Axens 
Nærhed af dennes Retning. Ved Kysterne følger den 
Kystens Retning. Mellem Axen og Kysterne følge Strøm- 
Linierne de herskende Vindes Retning, forsaavidt som disse 
tillade det. Hvor de herskende Vinde ikke blæse langs 
med Kysterne, er Strømliniernes Retning trukket saaledes, 
at de give et continuerligt Strømsystem, der fører Hav- 
overfladens Bevægelse, med snart udvidet, snart indsnevret 
Tversnit, rundt om Axen og langs med Kysterne. Et 
saadant System af sammenhængende Stromlinier er frem- 
stillet i Pl. XX XIII, her yderligere støttet paa Beregnin- 
Linier, 
ger, der skulle meddeles i det følgende Capitel, hvor der. 
er Tale om Hastighederne. I nærværende Capitel beskjæt- 
tige vi os væsentlig kun med Vindstrømmens Retning. 
I Nordsøen ere de herskende Vinde vestsydvestlige 
og vestlige og have en Hastighed af 3 til 4 Meter pr. 
Secund. Deres umiddelbare Virkning paa Vandet er at 
trykke dette op mod Jyllands Vestkyst. Her maa saaledes 
Vandet løbe nordover. Ved Skotlands og Englands Øst- 
kyst, hvorfra Vandet drives bort mod Øst, vilde der danne 
sig en Fordybning under Niveaufladen. Denne Fordybning 
vil det omgivende Vand søge at fylde. Dette kan ikke ske 
østenfra, thi Vandet føres af Vinden østover. Det kan 
ikke ske søndenfra, thi de herskende Vinde føre Vandet 
fra Strædet ved Dover østover. Det kan ikke ske vesten- 
fra, thi her er Land. Fordybningen maa saaledes fyldes 
nordenfra. Gjennem Pentland Firth og forbi Orkenøerne 
maa Vandet fra Atlanterhavet bøje til højre og løbe syd- 
over 1 den vestlige Del af Nordsøen, østover i den syd- 
lige Del og nordover i den østlige Del. I Midten af den 
nordlige Del af Nordsøen bliver der en Slags Strøm-Axe, 
hvor Bevægelsen skifter fra sydgaaende til nordgaaende. 
I Skagerak drive Vindene Vandet ind langs Jyllands 
Kyst. I den nordligste Del af Kattegat møder det Øster- 
søens Vand, der paa Grund af sit højere Niveau vil rende 
ud 1 Nordsøen. Det: indstrømmende Vand bøjer derfor 
inderst i Skagerak om og strømmer ud langs Norges Syd- 
kyst. Her er, som Pl. XXXI viser, Lufttryksgradienten 
meget svag, Vindene i Aarets Løb omtrent ligesaa hyppig 
nordostlige som sydvestlige, medens de ved Skagen ere 
overvejende sydvestlige. 
Den Bøjning mod Syd, som Strømlinierne faa i 
Nordsøen, giver sin tilsvarende Virkning tilkjende paa alle 
Strømlinier mellem Punktet A og Nordsøen: de bøjes 
ogsaa mod Syd, i Retning af Nordsøens Midte. 
Udenfor Norges Vestkyst gaa Strømlinierne nogenlunde 
langs med Kysten. De knibe sig sammen mod Nord, 
bo 
On a chart with the said axis AB set off, were 
drawn lines indicating the probable direction of the surface- 
current produced by the wind. This direction is determined 
in the proximity of the axis by the direction of the latter. 
Off the coasts, it follows the direction of the coast-line. 
Between the axis and the coasts, the stream-lines take the 
direction of the prevailing winds, provided the latter admit 
of their doing so. Where the prevailing winds do not blow 
-along the coasts, the direction given to the stream-lines is 
such as to} form a continuous current-system bearing on- 
ward the motion of the sea-surface, now with expanded, now 
narrowed sections, round about the axis and along the 
coastal lines. Such a system of continuous stream-lines is 
represented in Pl. XX XIII, deriving there additional support 
from computations to be set forth in the next chapter, which 
treats of velocities. In the present chapter our attention 
will be occupied chiefly with the direction of the wind- 
current. 
Throughout the North Sea the prevailing winds are 
west-south-westerly and westerly, with a velocity of 3 to 4 
metres per second. heir immediate influence on the water 
is to bank it up against the west coast of Jutland. Here, 
accordingly, the current must set northwards. Off the east 
coast of Scotland and England, whence the water is carried 
off towards the east, a depression would form beneath the 
surface of level, Now such a depression the surrounding 
water must seek to fill. But this cannot be done from 
the east, the water being carried off by the wind eastwards. 
Nor can it be effected from the south, the prevailing winds 
carrying the water from the Straits of Dover eastwards. 
Neither is it possible from the west; for in that direction 
we have land. Hence, the depression must be filled from 
the north. Through the Pentland Firth and past the Orkney 
Islands, the water from the Atlantic must bend to the right 
and flow southwards in the western part of the North Sea, 
eastwards in the southern part, and northwards in the 
eastern part. In the middle of the northern part of the 
North Sea, occurs a kind of current-axis, where the motion 
changes from a southward to a northward. 
Throughout the Skagerak, the winds force the water 
along the coast of Jutland. In the most northerly part 
of the Cattegat it meets the water of the Baltic, which, 
owing to its higher level, must flow into the North Sea. 
Accordingly the influx of water curves round farthest in the 
Skagerak and flows out along the south coast of Norway. 
Here, as shown in Pl. XXXI, the gradient of atmospheric 
pressure is very trifling; the winds that prevail in the 
course of the year blow almost as frequently from the north- 
east as from the south-west, whereas those at the Scaw 
are in greater part by far south-westerly. 
The bend towards the south which the stream-lines 
exhibit in the North Sea, exerts a corresponding influence 
on all the stream-lines between the pomt A and the 
North Sea; they are, viz., bent southward towards the 
middle of the latter. 
Off the West Coast of Norway, the stream-lines 
take very nearly the direction of the coast, They crowd 
