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74 THE OCEAN.
Arctic Sea possesses sufficient force to compel the current from the Gulf
to bend sensibly toward the south, and to oppose an insurmountable barrier to it in the other direction. The warmest and most rapid part of
the Gulf Stream, which forms precisely the left or western side of the current, is found in immediate juxtaposition to a sheet of cold water, which
spreads in an opposite direction between the Gulf Stream and the American shores. This counter-current, which interposes the waters of the Icy
Sea between the coast of Carolina and the warm river flowing from the
Gulf of Mexico, bounds the Gulf Stream like a wall of ice.* Sometimes
the line of demarkation between the two liquid masses is so precise that
it is appreciable to the sight, and the exact moment when a ship leaves
one current, to cleave the other with its prow, may be distinguished.
The water of the Gulf Stream is of a beautiful azure, that of the counter-
current is greenish; the first is saturated with salt, the latter contains it
in a much less proportion. The one is tepid,„the other cold; and the thermometer, when plunged alternately in the two liquids, instantly marks
the difference of temperature. On the boundary line of .the currents, the
friction of the two masses of water flowing in opposite directions produces a series of eddies, whirlpools, and short waves, which give to these
ocean rivers an aspect similar to that of continental rivers. Sometimes
one can even hear, like a dull roaring, the noise of the waters contending
on the surface of the sea. Floating plants and other fragments are whirled round on the ever-changing boundary of the two contending streams.f
The Gulf Stream, like all other currents, finally mingles with the sea,
and thus tends to equalize the proportion of salt and all other substances
contained in the liquid mass. The normal salinity of the Caribbean Sea
is from 36 to 37 thousandths, except in the neighborhood of the mouths
of great rivers. After having received the fresh waters of the Mississippi and the visible and subterranean rivers of Florida, the Gulf Stream
does not contain quite 36 thousandths of saline substances; but this is
gradually increased as it advances toward the north. Off Newfound-
landj where the waters of the St. Lawrence and many other rivers, as
well as the melted ice, fogs, and heavy rains, have rendered the waves of
the sea more fresh, the Gulf Stream contains less than 34 parts in 1000
of saline matter, but it gradually increases the proportion to 35 thousandths as it shapes its course toward the coasts of Western Europe and
the polar regions. The currents of cold water which serve as its bed are
all less rich in saline substances, as Forchhammer and other chemists *
have proved. But in consequence of the incessant mixture of the waters,
an equalization of saltness between the currents is produced in the various latitudes. \
Another effect of the Gulf Stream, no less important in the economy of
our planet, is that which it accomplishes, in concert with the south-west
* Franklin Bache, United States Coast-Survey.
f Kohl; Fitzroy, Adventure and Beagle, Appendix to vol. ii.
X Forchhammer, Philosophical Transactions, part i., p. 241, 1865.
| Title | The ocean, atmosphere, and life |
| Creator | Reclus, Elisée |
| Publisher | Harper |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1873 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000085 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 74 THE OCEAN. Arctic Sea possesses sufficient force to compel the current from the Gulf to bend sensibly toward the south, and to oppose an insurmountable barrier to it in the other direction. The warmest and most rapid part of the Gulf Stream, which forms precisely the left or western side of the current, is found in immediate juxtaposition to a sheet of cold water, which spreads in an opposite direction between the Gulf Stream and the American shores. This counter-current, which interposes the waters of the Icy Sea between the coast of Carolina and the warm river flowing from the Gulf of Mexico, bounds the Gulf Stream like a wall of ice.* Sometimes the line of demarkation between the two liquid masses is so precise that it is appreciable to the sight, and the exact moment when a ship leaves one current, to cleave the other with its prow, may be distinguished. The water of the Gulf Stream is of a beautiful azure, that of the counter- current is greenish; the first is saturated with salt, the latter contains it in a much less proportion. The one is tepid,„the other cold; and the thermometer, when plunged alternately in the two liquids, instantly marks the difference of temperature. On the boundary line of .the currents, the friction of the two masses of water flowing in opposite directions produces a series of eddies, whirlpools, and short waves, which give to these ocean rivers an aspect similar to that of continental rivers. Sometimes one can even hear, like a dull roaring, the noise of the waters contending on the surface of the sea. Floating plants and other fragments are whirled round on the ever-changing boundary of the two contending streams.f The Gulf Stream, like all other currents, finally mingles with the sea, and thus tends to equalize the proportion of salt and all other substances contained in the liquid mass. The normal salinity of the Caribbean Sea is from 36 to 37 thousandths, except in the neighborhood of the mouths of great rivers. After having received the fresh waters of the Mississippi and the visible and subterranean rivers of Florida, the Gulf Stream does not contain quite 36 thousandths of saline substances; but this is gradually increased as it advances toward the north. Off Newfound- landj where the waters of the St. Lawrence and many other rivers, as well as the melted ice, fogs, and heavy rains, have rendered the waves of the sea more fresh, the Gulf Stream contains less than 34 parts in 1000 of saline matter, but it gradually increases the proportion to 35 thousandths as it shapes its course toward the coasts of Western Europe and the polar regions. The currents of cold water which serve as its bed are all less rich in saline substances, as Forchhammer and other chemists * have proved. But in consequence of the incessant mixture of the waters, an equalization of saltness between the currents is produced in the various latitudes. \ Another effect of the Gulf Stream, no less important in the economy of our planet, is that which it accomplishes, in concert with the south-west * Franklin Bache, United States Coast-Survey. f Kohl; Fitzroy, Adventure and Beagle, Appendix to vol. ii. X Forchhammer, Philosophical Transactions, part i., p. 241, 1865. |
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