VOL. VII. NO. 3 MARCH. 1961

EDITOR: JAN HAHN

Published periodically and distributed to the

Associates of the Woods Hole Oceano-

graphic Institution and others

interested in Oceanography

HENRY B. BIGELOW

Chairman of the Board of Trustees

RAYMOND STEVENS

President of the Corporation

PAUL M. FYE

Director

COLUMBUS O'D. ISELIN

H. B. Bigelo--iv Oceanographer

BOSTWICK H. KETCHUM

Senior Oceanographer

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution • Woods Hole, Massachusetts

HE fisherman on our cover and
the whalemen on this page are
Portuguese. With the tragi-comedy
of the Santa Maria fresh in our
minds, let us not forget that the
Portuguese have been renowned sea-
farers for over 500 years. Under
Henry the Navigator they launched
the great age of exploration. In-
directly, a's they held the trade route
to the East Indies, the Portuguese

were responsible for the Dutch and English discoveries in the Arctic in
the search for a northeast passage. Azorean and Cape Verdean Portuguese
manned the Yankee whalers, while today, as for hundreds of years, a large
fleet of Portuguese dory schooners fishes for cod and haddock on the
Grand Banks. Indeed, we have always felt that if Columbus had taken
the northern route, the Grand Banks fishermen could have told him that
a huge land was just to windward "um pouco". ',

Editorial

VOL. VII, NO. 3, MARCH 1961

"Together let us explore the stars, conquer the
deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths
and encourage the arts and commerce."

"We have neglected oceanography, saline water
conversion, and the basic research that lies at
the root of progress."

J. HESE words were spoken by President Kennedy in his Inaugural
Address and in the State of the Union Message. Probably these were the
first occasions of this nature in which a newly-elected President has
mentioned our subject. We feel both proud and delighted that President
Kennedy did so, and wistfully hope that he may have been influenced, as
Senator Kennedy for many years has been on the mailing list of "Oceanus".

The President grew up by the sea and knows boats. Those who love
the sea know that she is a demanding mistress who never lets one
forget her.

People are beginning to understand the ocean's importance to all.
People are beginning to understand the importance of basic research. We
must continue to inform them. With a spokesman in the White House
the task will be eased.

The 'Crawford' departing in early February. It was quite a winter in Woods Hole.

z

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J

DEEP CURRENTS

IN

OPEN OCEAN

BY MARY SWALLOW

Deep ocean currents, or eddies, transporting huge water masses
were found in 1959 and 1960 during a joint British-U.S. study

made off Bermuda.

T.

HE work of the R.V. 'Aries' off Bermuda
beween June 1959 and August 1960, measuring
deep currents, was a joint project shared by the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the
British National Institute of Oceanography. In
retrospect it is agreeable to find that more data
was collected than seemed possible at a time
when, through adverse weather conditions, sick-
ness or the inadequacy of the ship's mechanical
and electrical equipment, the 'Aries' was often
unable to sail on time and even more frequently
unable to spend the twelve days at sea which
was required of her. In the event 80 neutrally-
buoyant floats were tracked from the research
vessels 'Aries', 'Crawford', and 'Atlantis', some-
what more than half of the floats at a depth of
2,000 meters and most of the others at 400
meters and 4,000 meters. The floats moved a
total distance of 1,360 miles and were followed
for about 400 days (counting a day more than
once if more than one float were being followed) ;
well over 500 fixes were made on the floats.

The aim of the project was to measure deep
currents in the open ocean away from the con-
tinental coasts and any strongly marked surface
currents such as the Gulf Stream System.
Bermuda seemed, and proved, to be a particularly
good base for the 'Aries' which, because of her
available fresh water storage, could not stay at
sea longer than about two weeks. Water deeper
than 4,000 meters was within a few hours' sailing
of land, and the Loran system of navigation was
usable, particularly to the west of Bermuda
where most of the work was done; in tracking

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The R.V. 'Aries' off Bermud

the neutrally-buoyant floats it is
necessary to know positions as pre-
cisely as possible. Since August 1959
the additional use of Loran C gave
a much greater accuracy than was

hitherto possible. Mr. R. G. Walden
developed a receiving set which he
installed on the 'Aries' giving an
accuracy of position of about 200
yards in the usual working area; she

Deep Currents

was thus one of the first ships to use
this system of navigation. Both
Loran and Loran C became too poor
to use to the east of Bermuda.

It had been thought that the deep
currents in this part of the open
ocean might be very slow moving
and the neutrally -buoyant floats
made at the National Institute of
Oceanography and brought to Ber-
muda were designed to have a long
life of six months. It was found
however, quite soo.n, that currents
at both 2,000 meters and 4,000 meters
might have velocities as high as 12
centimeters per second:!: for varying
periods, and as the shortest interval
between the working area and re-
turning to it was a week, the search
on return proved very time-
consuming and often unrewarding.
At the end of July 1959 each remain-
ing long-life float was converted to
two conventional floats, and shorter
measurements planned to last for a
single cruise were made thereafter.

From June to August 1959 the
work was in an area to the west of
Bermuda and the floats travelled
with considerably varying speeds

* About ¥4 of a knot. 2 centimeters per
second (cm/sec) are equal to about one
mile per day. One mile per hour is equal
to 51.48 cm/sec.

and directions, but usually with a
westerly component.

The "cold patch"

An unexpected but interesting
development in the project plans
was the tracking, from the beginning
of October until the end of Novem-
ber 1959, of what was familiarly
termed the "cold patch". It was
noticed that in an area to the south-
west of Bermuda the isotherms*
curved towards the surface, and it
seemed possible that this might be
associated in some way with the
strong variable deep currents. Fur-
ther investigation, using bathytherm-
ographs and making hydrographic
stations, showed this area to be a
lens-shaped thickening of the 18° C.
layer travelling as a whole to the
southwest. Neutrally-buoyant floats
in this lens at 400 meters depth
moved quickly, at speeds of about
one knot and the tracks indicated
that the lens was rotating in a clock-
wise direction. The currents (4 to 7
centimeters per second) at 2,000
meters and 4,000 meters apparently
bore no relation to the position of
the cold patch, although the average
of these deep velocities was similar
to the velocity of the whole patch.

* Lines of equal temperature.

The positions of the "cold patch" in October and November 1959 show where the 66° F.
isotherm (which elsewhere lay at a depth of 600 to 700 feet) came within 400 feet of
the surface. The patch moved 117 miles in 50 days, a speed of 5.0 cm/sec, (about
l/10th of a knot).

PASLEY

Extrapolating backwards in time
it seemed possible that this cold patch
had originated near Bermuda, leav-
ing there in July 1959, and was
possibly caused by the extra cooling
of the shallow waters within the reef
in the previous winter. The slightly
higher oxygen values in the lens also
suggested a local origin and even
more strongly so did the presence in
the cold patch of spiny lobster larvae
most probably from Bermuda. After
the 'Aries' was refitted in January
1960 and during the months of Feb-
ruary and March when it was diffi-
cult, on account of the weather, for
the ship to work at sea for more
than a day or two at a time, the
waters immediately around Bermuda
were investigated. Floats were put
down at 400 meters and 1,200 meters
and those at 400 meters within the
1,000 fathom line showed a weak
clockwise rotation of water around
the islands. Hydrographic stations,

however, showed little, if any, evi-
dence of the formation of a cold
patch for the coming autumn. It still
remains impossible to tell whether
the cold patch had an island origin,
or whether it had some totally dif-
ferent cause.

Deep Currents

From April 1960 to August 1960
six visits were made to the area
west of Bermuda which had been
visited in 1959, in approximately 31°
to 32° North and 67° to 68° West, an
area of relatively flat sea floor. Deep
currents with speeds up to 13 centi-
meters per second were found. In
April 1960 a vertical profile was
made with four floats at depths be-
tween 2,000 meters and 5,000 meters.
The flow was predominantly south-
ward, with a westward component
which decreased with depth. On
subsequent visits a northwesterly
flow was sometimes found, alter-

The neutrally buoyant floats (Fingers or
Swallow floats) were developed by Dr.
John C. Swallow of the British National
Institute of Oceanography. The floats con-
sist of aluminum tubing about eight feet
long. The tubes obtain their buoyancy by
being less compressible than water. A
simple electronic device, run by batteries
inside the tube, sends current through
a coil wrapped around a nickel ring
outside the tube, producing the
"ping" trailed by under-
water listening devices.

Deep Currents

nating with southwestward move-
ment at intervals of a few weeks.
It was noticed that floats at 4,000
meters depth consistently moved
more nearly north or south than
did neighbouring ones at 2,000 meters
though the angles between their
tracks rarely exceeded 30°. In nearly
every case the current was faster at
4,000 meters than it was at 2,000
meters.

On several occasions, pairs or
groups of floats were put down at
the same depth; usually the floats
would show similar movements if
they were spaced not more than 30
miles apart, though once when a
triangle of floats was laid at 2,000
meters depth, 15 miles apart, one of
them moved quickly in a clockwise
curve at 11 centimeters per second,
whilst the other two hardly moved
at all.

Two visits were made in the sum-
mer of I960 to the northeast of
Bermuda (the distance to the east
was limited by the use of the Loran
system) ; one was made at the end
of May and the beginning of June
as a contribution to the Woods Hole
multiple ship Gulf Stream Survey,*
when four floats, laid at 3,000 meters
depth along a 70-mile line, moved
generally southwest; the other was
made in July 1960 to an area around
34° North 62° West when a narrow
fast-moving streak of deep water
was observed. Floats at a depth of
2,000 meters about thirty miles apart
moved north at 6 to 8 centimeters
per second, but one, halfway be-
tween them, moved northwards at
13 centimeters per second, acceler-
ating to 20 centimeters per second.

0

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1 !

1 i — - =£===

I i % of total time of observation

4OOOm
N

1-3 3-6 6-9 9-18 >I8 cm/sec

© National Institute of Oceanography

The arrows shown in these current roses indicate the observed directions of flow of the
deep currents, grouped around 8 points of the compass.

The thickness and shading show velocity in cm/sec. (2 cm/sec. ; 1 mile per day, approxi-
mately). The length of each shaded portion represents the time during which currents in
that speed range were observed in that direction, expressed as a percentage of the total time
of observation at that depth.

The rose for the currents observed at a depth of 2000m. is based on 247^2 days' observations;
41 ¥4 days (8.Qf> of total > are not represented as the velocities were weaker that 1 cm /sec., or
the directions were erratic. The rose for the currents observed at a depth of 4000 m. is based
on 63 \/2 days' observations.

* See Oceanus, Vol. VI, No. 4.

Two floats at 4,000 meters in this
central region . moved even more
rapidly northwards, one travelling
at 42 centimeters per second (about
four-fifths of a knot), by far the
highest velocity observed at such a
great depth.

General impression

The general impression is, then,
of the deep currents being more
rapid and more variable than had
been expected, with no evidence for
a decrease in speed with depth. In
fact, the average speed observed at
2,000 meters depth, regardless of
direction, was 6 centimeters per sec-
ond, whilst at 4,000 meters the
average was nearly 12 centimeters
per second. From the fragmentary
evidence obtained about the length
and time scales to be associated with
the observed fluctuations of deep
currents, it seems as if they may
perhaps be regarded as eddies with
a typical diameter of about 100
miles, or alternatively as streams
with a typical width of about 100
miles, showing large changes of
direction at intervals of a few weeks.
Although the average speeds of the
deep currents may seem fairly slow
(12 centimeters per second is not
quite a quarter of a knot) these
fluctuating streams are broad and
deep and are transporting large vol-
umes of water. For example, a typical
stream 100 miles wide extending

down through the deep water from
2,000 meters to 5,000 meters and
moving at an average speed of only
5 centimeters per second would be
transporting as much water as the
Florida Current.

How these fluctuating currents are
generated, and why they are so much
stronger in the Western Atlantic
than in the East, is not yet clear.
Our immediate need is to collate
and publish the data.

Acknowledgments

The 'Aries', a 93-ft. ketch, arrived
in Woods Hole in March 1959, and
was fitted out as a research vessel
by June 1959; she was then used
continuously on current-measuring
until August 1960. Her longest stay
ashore was from December 14th,
1959, until February 2nd, 1960, when
her engine was replaced by the spare
reconditioned one from England.
Thus, excluding the refit, she was
available to the project for 390 days.
About 53'/< of the total time, 206
days, was spent at sea, 186 days of
which were on cruises to deep water,
and of this deep-water time 129 days
were spent in the selected working
area. Captain J. W. Gates was in
•charge until after the refit when
Captain H. H. Seibert took over until
the end of the project. Mr. C. L.
McCann was mate for the entire
period.

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AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL
1952 1953

The rapidly fluctuating transport in water volume in the Florida Current, between
Key West and Cuba, is shown in this diagram of observations made with the Geomagnetic

Electrokinetograph.

Changes in transport from 15 to 40 million tons of water per second take place in one

month or in even shorter periods.

Deep Currents

It was particularly fortunate that,
in October and November 1959, the
R.V. 'Crawford' (Captain David F.
Casiles) was made available for the
project to work in conjunction with
the 'Aries'; the greater speed and
range of the 'Crawford' were un-
doubted assets. In December the R.V.
'Atlantis' (Captain W. Scott Bray)
replaced the 'Crawford' for the last
cruise of the project in 1959, and
owing to bad weather and a sick
seaman the ship did not arrive back
in Woods Hole until late on Christ-
mas Day.

The scientists continuously with
the project were Dr. John C. Swallow
and Mr. James Crease from the
National Institute of Oceanography.
Mr. Henry Charnock, also from Eng-
land, Mr. Joseph R. Barrett and Mr.
Gordon H. Volkmann, both from
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institu-
tion, were with the project for
lengthy periods in 1959. Mr. Allan
Robinson, Mr. Edward D. Stroup,
Mr. Robert G. Walden, Mr. Robert
Sexton, Mr. John S. Farlow, and Mr.
John D. Sandblom, all from the
United States of America, sailed on
various cruises of the project in 1959.

In 1960 Mr. G. M. Cresswell from
Stanford University visited the ship
for a short period.

Professor Henry M. Stommel, to
whom the U. S. National Science
Foundation had awarded the money
for the project, visited us on a num-
ber of occasions and took part in
several cruises.

We were greatly helped by the
kindness of Dr. W. H. Sutcliffe, the
Director of the Bermuda Biological
Station, with his unfailing solicitude
for the project and his practical help
to the personnel. Office space was
rented at the Biological Station and
the families of the scientists were
housed on the property. The 'Aries'
used a jetty in St. George's Harbor
and the families of some of the
marine personnel were housed in the
town of St. George.

We feel particularly grateful for
the continuous unfailing help from
many members of the Institution
which made the persistent accumu-
lation of data possible, and we are
especially conscious of what we owe
to Dr. Fye and Professor Stommel.

8

The 'Aries'
showing her pace

An Interpretation

of the

Deep Current Measurements

BY C O D ISELIN

HILE Dr. and Mrs. Swallow
have wisely refrained from trying
to explain the rather unexpected
results of the 'Aries' deep current
measurements, the following inter-
pretation seems to me a reasonable
one. South of Cape Hatteras the
depth of the Gulf Stream is limited
by the depths over the Blake Pla-
teau, namely about 1,000 meters. If
we assume that northeastward from
Cape Hatteras, the current gradually
increases in depth and in transport,
and there is considerable evidence
that this is indeed the case, then the
additional northeastward moving
water must come from the Sargasso
Sea. Supposing that as the Gulf
Stream passes west of Bermuda it is
increasing in depth from about
1500 m. to about 2500 m. Then one
would expect that the net flow at
2,000 meters in the area west of
Bermuda would be towards the west

and this is what the second diagram,
summarizing the data shows. Fur-
thermore, if the Gulf Stream contin-
ues to deepen in the downstream
direction, by the time it reaches a
point north of Bermuda perhaps it
is beginning to entrain water from
the 4,000 meter level. Finally, in part
the considerable variations in veloc-
ity and direction observed at both
levels are no doubt due to eddying
motions, as Mrs. Swallow points out,
but one must also remember that the
Gulf Stream meanders and that its
mean track shifts in position, especi-
ally after passing the Grand Banks.
These variations in position of the
Gulf Stream perhaps require deep
adjustments within the Sargasso Sea.
This would explain also why the
deep currents in the west are some-
times so much stronger than any
that have been observed off the
European coast.

A deep countercurrent in the Gulf Stream area off the Blake Plateau was found
during the IGY by the use of the Finger in another joint National Institute —
Woods Hole program. See: Oceanus, vol. V, nos. 3 and 4, and Life Magazine for

November, 1960.

MARY SWALLOW is the wife of Dr.
John C. Swallow, she has been at the
National Institute of Oceanography since
1953 and was librarian until she went
to Bermuda in 1959.

Where are the ships?

Ti

HE R.V. 'Atlantis' (Capt. A. D.
Colburn Jr.) left Woods Hole on
January 12th, on cruise #263, to
study the formation of Mediterran-
ean bottom water. It is thought that
bottom water is formed during the
winter months in such areas as the
Ligurian Sea off the French and
Italian coasts, but the mechanics and
extent of production during this pro-
cess are unknown. The present
cruise was planned to lay the founda-
tion for future studies of this prob-
lem. Since the entire fluid column
(air and water) has to be considered
in the formation of cold, dense water,
meteorological observations are also
being made by chief scientist A. R.
Miller and his scientific party con-
sisting of three from Woods Hole,
and D. P. Tchernia of the French
Laboratoire d'Oceanographie Phys-
ique, Dr. H. Charnock of the British
National Institute of Oceanography
and Dr. Eric Kraus of the Australian
Snowy Mountains Authority. The
ship will return about April 17th.

The R.V. 'Chain' (Capt. E. H.
Hiller) left February 2d on cruises
#17. The major portion of the cruise
will be devoted to a study of the
Romanche Trench. This feature lies
on the Equator at about 18° West
Longitude and is an interesting
region geophysically for a number
of reasons. With a depth of greater
than 8,000 meters, it is unlike other
known ocean deeps in that it is not
adjacent to an island chain or con-
tinental land mass. Rather, it lies on
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge itself. The
Trench area generally may repre-
sent the saddle point of the Mid-
Atlantic Ridge where the deepest
communication between the Eastern
and Western Basins occurs. In the
same general area, though not associ-
ated with the presence of the Trench,
strong indications were found during
the International Geophysical Year
of an easterly flowing Equatorial
Undercurrent. The ship will return
on or about May 15th.

Continued on page 24.

10

ATLANTIS RECORD

\

o

'N November 30th, 1960, the re-
search vessel 'Atlantis', on her
261st cruise, reached a milestone in
her long career. Capt. Arthur D.
Colburn and L. Valentine Worthing-
ton, Chief Scientist, radioed the
news from the mid- Atlantic:

"ATLANTIS' 5000TH STATION
COMPLETED TODAY IN LATI-
TUDE 18° 30' NORTH, LONGI-
TUDE 55° 51' WEST."

Dr. Paul M. Fye, Director of the
Institution, sent congratulations in
return.

A hydrographic station is one of
the basic operations in oceanography.
To make a station, a series of Nan-
sen bottles with attached thermome-
ters are lowered into the ocean to
obtain temperatures and water
samples at various depths from sur-
face to bottom. Completing a station
takes several hours depending upon
the depth to be sampled. Usually
two "casts" are made. One above
2000 meters with closely-spaced bot-
tles, and one from 2000 meters to the
bottom with more widely-spaced
bottles.

The 'Atlantis' hove-to. rolling: in
a long: swell.

(FROM A KODACHROME
BY F. C. RICHARDS).

The 'Atlantis' is believed to be the
only research vessel to reach the
5,000 mark. A 142-foot steel-hulled
ketch, she was built for the Institu-
tion in Denmark in 1931 and, except
for a short lay-up during the worst
war years, has been continuously in
use. She has traveled about a million
and a half miles since her first sta-
tion was made on July 26, 1931, on
the initial crossing from Europe. On
that occasion the position was 52° 28'
North, 29° 46' West and Dr. Columbus
O'D. Iselin was both master and
chief scientist. Dr. Iselin is Henry
Bryant Bigelow Oceanographer at
the Institution and served formerly
as its Director.

The 5,000th station (numbered
6,000. The first station started as
A-1000.) was made during a cruise
to locate and make measurements in
the area of salinity maximum in the
North Atlantic.

11

ulf Stream Meanderings

A. R. Miller with a chart
showing the initial paths of
the three radio transponding
buoys set within a circle of
15 miles during the multiple
ship survey "Gulf Stream
•60". In his hands Mr. Miller
has a chart indicating the
wide meanders of the Gulf
Stream System in the same
area during the Spring
months of 1960.

T.

-40C

-35'

30<

25'

,HAT complex Gulf Stream! The
more we look at it, the more difficult
it is to understand. During our mul-
tiple ship study, Gulf Stream 1960,
(see Oceanus, Vol. VI, No. 4) six of
Mr. D. Frantz' radio drift buoys
were set out. Two, called Tango and
November were never heard nor
seen again; one (Alpha) was inad-
vertently picked up by a Radar
Picket ship after 11 days.

Of the remaining three buoys, all
set within a 15 mile circle, Hotel (2)
drifted generally in a "classic" Gulf
Stream direction, although it could
not make up its mind going around
in circles for about a month along
60° West and after 117 days, near the
end of its life span, seemed deter-
mined to home again. India (3)
launched on May 13 at almost the
identical launching site of Hotel (2)
drifted in circles until lost on June
15th. Mike (4) proved itself, to the
surprise of Mr. Frantz and everyone
else, Mike's sender and receiver kept
operating for 199 days, while Mike
placidly travelled to Bermuda, hesi-
tating in a circle only once, and
staying for seven days close to Ber-
muda before travelling back to the
Gulf Stream off South Carolina. Two
days before Christmas, Hotel was
still working and located by Mr.
Frantz in our R4D airplane. On Jan-
uary 6, 1961", the long lived veteran
did not respond to our calls.

What these meanderings mean in
terms of our knowledge of the Gulf
Stream System has not yet been
analyzed. At any rate the buoy oper-
ation represents the first time that
we have been able to continue the
study of a major ocean area for so
long a period.

The six buoys were manufactured
by Prodelin, Inc. from our basic old
design. The radio receivers had a
life span of six months, (Hotel gave
out after six months and two weeks!)
while the senders could be triggered
on demand for a life span of 12 to
1500 transmissions of 15 seconds dur-
ation.

Since our R4D does not have the
necessary range, the locating of the
radio-transponding buoys was largely
due to the cooperation of the U.S.
Navy Air Development Unit of
South Weymouth, Mass. For future
studies it is hoped that the Institu-
tion will be able to acquire an R5D
(DC-4) capable of long overwater
flights.

13

Mr. Mather, in the background, and his assistants Dorothy Rogers (standing) and Margaret
Watson (kneeling) inspect some of the bluefin tuna brought to Woods Hole for further

studies (and some eating).

Excellent catches of bluefin tuna in the northwestern

Atlantic were made in November on the 1,000 fathom

line, thus closing a gap in our knowledge of the yearly

distribution cycle of this fish.

14

. •* .

Closing a Gap

UJ

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Q.

(fl

in Our Knowledge

BY FRANK J. MATHER

A

.LTHOUGH it is one of our most
important offshore gamefish, and also
of interest to commercial fishermen,
much of the migratory cycle of the
western Atlantic bluefin tuna re-
mains a mystery. Thirty years ago,
this fish was known only through
its appearance in northern coastal
waters in the late spring, summer
and early fall. In the 1930's, sport-
fishermen discovered a regular north-
ward run of giant bluefin in May
and early June in the Bimini-Cat
Cay area of the Bahamas. In the last
few years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has conducted extensive
exploratory tuna fishing programs
in the northwestern Atlantic and
also in the Gulf of Mexico and parts
of the Caribbean Sea. Fishing with
Japanese long line showed that giant
bluefin were present in the Gulf of
Mexico and in parts of the northern
Caribbean in the winter and through
much of the spring, and others,
mostly of medium size, occurred in
these seasons in the northwestern
Atlantic, mostly between Georges
and the Nova Scotia Banks and the
Gulf Stream. The almost complete
failure to catch any of these fish in
the deep oceanic or southern waters
during the summer and early fall
indicated that in these seasons most
of the population must be on the
Continental Shelf, including the
coastal waters from Cape Hatteras
to Newfoundland and the outer
banks. No exploratory fishing had
been done in the northwestern
Atlantic in November or December,
and the Gulf and Caribbean program
had not produced any bluefin in
these months. Also, our extensive
studies of the inshore sport and com-
mercial fisheries had revealed few
traces of the bluefin, which usually
disappear from northern coastal
waters in October or early November.

15

Tuna

Cruise 56 of the R/V 'Crawford'
in November was designed to fill
this gap in our knowledge of the
bluefin tuna, and also to contribute
toward the completion of the year's
cycle of exploration of the north-
western Atlantic. Fishing for tuna
and other large oceanic fishes was
carried out with Japanese long line
gear loaned by the U. S. Bureau of
Commercial Fisheries, which also
furnished most of the herring used
as bait. This line, up to seven miles
long, was suspended from floats so
that the hooks, up to 500 in number,
fished at depths of from 15 to 60
fathoms or more. The scientific fish-
ermen who had been preparing and
baiting the gear since about 4:30 A.M.,
usually started setting it over the
stern at dawn and completed this
task in time for an 8 o'clock break-
fast. Unless the floats indicated
exceptional activity, we allowed the
line to fish until mid-morning, when
hauling in began with the aid of a
special hauler mounted near the
bow. This was completed between
1:00 and 3:00 or 4:00 p.m., depending
on the amount of line set, the
weather conditions, and the catch. All
lively tunas were tagged to study
their migrations. When hauling was
completed, it was time to measure
and dissect the catch, and to straight-
en out the gear for the next day's
fishing, a chore which sometimes

took several hours.

To study the environmental con-
ditions, the party measured surface
and subsurface temperatures and
salinities, as well as the water trans-
parency. A Woods Hole precision
graphic recorder was used to study

Setting a Japanese long line. Each basket
contains about 800 feet of line with one
hundred hooks set about 100 feet apart. A
total of seven miles of line was set out on
various occasions during the experimental
fishing.

subsurface scattering layers, and
also, on occasion, showed interesting
traces of fish being brought in on the
line and swimming away after they
had been tagged.

For once, results were not long in
coming. The 'Crawford' left the
Institution dock late on Veteran's
Day afternoon. Within less than 24
hours, her foredeck was loaded with
bluefin tuna, as well as three true
albacore and a bigeye tuna. This
catch, totalling 57 tunas, of which 17
were tagged, on a modest set of 310
hooks was made only 125 miles
southeast of New York City, on the
1,000 fathom curve at the entrance
of Hudson Canyon. This was a sur-
prise, as previous fishing in this area
by the M/V 'Delaware', of the

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16

The distribution of bluefin
tuna as found during the
November cruise of the R.V.
'Crawford'. As commercial
fishermen find it economi-
cally practical to obtain six
fish per hundred hooks, the
catches on the 1,000 fathom
line were remarkable.

NEW YORK

-Y-

/
^;>

Y

TUNA PER 100 HOOKS
NO TUNA

U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisher-
ies, in other seasons was unproductive,
and there had been many indications
that the bluefin tuna travelled more
to the eastward when they left the
coastal waters.

Working southward, we made a
set at the entrance to Norfolk Can-
yon off Chesapeake Bay, and another
in the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras.
These produced only three and four
tuna, respectively, indicating that
the concentration off New York did
not extend so far southward. Two
sets to the northeastward, well out-
side the 1,000 fathom curve, but
north of the Gulf Stream, yielded
only one and five albacore, respec-
tively. These results dictated a re-
turn to the 1,000 fathom line, where
the next set was made at the entrance
of Hydrographer Canyon, at the
opening of Great South Channel. As
the weather was very rough, only
320 hooks were set, but the catch of
more than 185 fish was the largest
ever made in deep water north-
western Atlantic exploratory fishing.
Over 100 bluefin were tagged and
released, 60 were boated, and at
least 25 more were lost alongside.
Only five of the 320 baits were re-
covered. As this confirmed the con-
centration along the edge of the
shelf, and no bluefin had been taken

further offshore, the question arose
as to whether they had all left the
inshore grounds. Therefore, a small
set was made 50 miles east of Pol-
lock Rip, at a well-known tuna
ground, called "Tobins" by the com-
mercial fishermen. This produced no
bluefin, but revealed an unusual
concentration of small mackerel
sharks. Subsequently, we have re-
ceived reports of giant bluefin obser-
vations in late November and early
December off western Long Island
and northern New Jersey.

Up to this point the weather had
been favorable — it had been possi-
ble, although sometimes very diffi-
cult, to fish every day. Then two days
were lost due to a storm, and the
vessel was driven from the planned
position. Finally an offshore set was
made just north of the Gulf Stream,
near where, in May, 1959, the 'Del-
aware' had made her best catches
of bluefin. The catch on 330 hooks
consisted of a single blue shark.
Returning to the 1,000 fathom line,
we fished off the southeastern corner
of Georges Bank and in the Eastern
Channel between Georges Bank and
the Nova Scotia Banks. Both sets
produced small catches of bluefin
tuna. The former also yielded a big-
eye tuna and 31 blue sharks, while
at the latter location one large

17

Tuna

swordfish, 10 big mackerel sharks and
20 lancet fish were taken. The catch
in the Eastern Channel was disap-
pointing, as there had been many
indications that this was a migration
route of the bluefin, and surface
signs, including multitudes of work-
ing birds and some surface tuna
schools, were favorable.

Dirty weather

On Thanksgiving Day, the weather
took over again. A set planned for
the southern edge of the Nova Scotia
Banks was finally made, but with
only 170 hooks, a very short fishing
time, and further offshore than had
been intended. The catch consisted of
a single bluefin, although a school of
them was seen on the surface.
Another offshore set further south
yielded one bluefin and two albacore.

As the time allotted was drawing
to a close, the last two stations were
planned to confirm and define the
concentration along the 1,000 fathom
curve. The first, made at the en-
trance of Lydonia Canyon, about 80
miles east of the scene of the big
catch at Hydrographer, produced 30
bluefin, as well as 10 albacore, three
bigeye tuna, a very small swordfish,
three sharks, an opah and a lancet
fish. The last set, due south of Woods

Hole, yielded 70 bluefin and an
albacore.

Sometimes the results of explora-
tory fishing are negative, and in
many other cases they are inconclu-
sive, being subject to various inter-
pretations. This was one of the
fortunate exceptions in which the
results were clear cut. As the dia-
gram of the catches shows, all the
heavy bluefin catches were grouped
along the 1,000 fathom curve between
Hudson and Lydonia Canyons. Blue-
fin were also present off Norfolk
Canyon and east and north of the
area of concentration, but much
fewer in number. None were taken
in three sets made offshore and to
the south of the heaviest concentra-
tion, nor at one made inshore and
north of it. Albacore were more
extensively, but much more thinly
distributed. Bigeye tuna were found
in even lesser numbers along the
1,000 fathom curve. The latter two
species which are often encountered
in the deep offshore waters are but
rarely taken by sportfishermen. Al-
though sharks were taken at most of
the stations, only two of the 385
tuna caught were mutilated.

It seems probable that the bluefin
tuna were schooling in preparation

Tagging: the lively tuna led

to a few acrobatics on the

'Crawford'.

18

to moving to their wintering grounds.
There was some indication that dif-
ferent fish were passing through the
area of concentration. The first two
heavy catches consisted of fish weigh-
ing from 100 to 300 pounds, with
most of them in the heavier part of
this range. At the last two sets, there
were fewer fish in this size range,
and several fish were in the 25 to 80
pound classes. Unfortunately, no
giant bluefin were taken, but this
cruise has filled an important gap
in our knowledge of the life cycle
of this swift and elusive tuna. As
over 200 tuna were tagged, it is
hoped that more information will
be forthcoming.

MR. MATHER is Research Associate in
Oceanography. For many years he has
followed large pelagic fishes in his con-
tinuing quest to study their natural
history.

The work explained by Mr. Mather
in this article provides an interesting
example how a major effort can be
realized at relatively small expense,
divided among several groups. The boat
time of the R/V 'Crawford' was paid
for under a grant for biological snips'
time from the National Science Founda-
tion. The Woods Hole Associates' con-
tributions paid for the fishing personnel,
while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
provided the fishing gear and bait.

i
o

>

o

u

The fearsome aspect of a lancet

fish. Widely distributed in the

deep waters of the Atlantic, this

fish rarely strays inshore.

Hauling the long: line during a
bit of weather

19

r

Dolphins (Stenella) at the bow of the R.V. Atlantis.

20

Submariners aid
Porpoise Studies

OlNCE Woodcock reported his
observations on "wave-riding" por-
poises in 1948, several explanations
have been offered of the phenomenon
of porpoises dwelling almost motion-
less near the bow of ships under
way. In all of these explanations it
is assumed that the porpoise derives
its thrust from the forward sloping
surface of the wave attached to the
bow of the vessel. It is conjectured
that the porpoise is either sliding
downwards on this slope under the
influence of gravity or that it sub-
merges its tail flukes in the forward
facing portion of the wave while the
main portion of its body is in the
horizontal water ahead of the bow.
There are on record, however, obser-
vations of porpoises riding at the
bow of small and relatively slow
vessels that do not generate conspicu-
ous bow waves. Therefore, it was
felt by Drs. A. Fejer and R. H.
Backus of our staff that the explana-
tions offered are lacking in com-
pleteness. A paper containing the
results of their findings has been
published in "Nature", Vol. 188, No.
4752, pp. 700-703. Drs. Fejer and
Backus proposed that the porpoise
derives its propulsive power from
the pressure gradient that exists
ahead of the bow and their calcula-
tions indicated that the force on the
porpoise, due to the pressure field
is of sufficient magnitude to balance
the hydrodynamic resistance of the
animal.

In view of the fact that subma-
rines traveling submerged do not
cause significant disturbances on the
surface, observations relating to
porpoises near the bows of subma-
rines are of great relevance to these
investigations. The bulbous bow type
submarine is, of course, of special
interest, because of the more exten-
sive high pressure that is character-
istic of these shapes. At the suggestion

of Mr. A. Vine of the Institution a
questionnaire was sent out to the
Atlantic submarine fleet through the
courtesy of the Commander of Sub-
marine Forces, U. S. Atlantic Fleet.
Dozens of submarine commanders
returned the questionnaire with an
astounding enthusiasm, many of
them enlarging considerably upon
the questions asked, and providing
a wealth of information not only
on the swimming behavior of por-
poises but also on sound production
of the mammals, the "operating
depths" of porpoises, and a wealth
of other natural history informa-
tion. The CO of the U.S.S. 'Seacat'
even included a photograph of por-
poises taken through the periscope.
Other officers and crew members
also became interested and we under-
stand that many wardroom discus-
sions took place.

Submariners and oceanographers
learned to know each other well
during and since World War II. The
Institution still retains a letter from
a submarine commander, written
near the end of the war, in which
he announced that he would gold-
plate a bathythermograph, hang it
above his bed and pat it every night
before going to sleep. It appears now
that the submariners are full of en-
thusiasm to aid us in strictly scien-
tific observations. In the last issue of
"Oceanus" we referred to the plank-
ton sampling done for us by the
U.S.S. 'Sea Dragon' under the Arctic
ice pack. The prompt replies to the
porpoise questionnaire undoubtedly
are of great value in our understand-
ing of the attractive animals.

Further reading

Bibliography for those who wish
to read more about the bow-riding
porpoises: Woodcock, A. H., "Nature".
161, 602 (1948); Woodcock, A. H., and
McBride, A. T., "J. Exp. Biol.", 28,
215 (1951); Hayes, W. D., "Nature",
172, 1060 (1953); Scholander, P. F.,
"Science", 130, 1658 (1959); Scho-
lander, P. F., "Science", 129, 1085
(1959); Caldwell, D. K., and Fields,
H. M., "J. Mamm.", 40, 454 (1959).

21

Forecasting

New England winters

BY J. CHASE

"Certis rebus certa signa praecurrunt"

Di

'ID Cicero mean this to apply to
weather? Or how about Thomas
Campbell's more familiar " — coming
events cast their shadows before."?

People have been trying for years
to forecast the weather at ever
longer range by means of "shadows
before" such as the length of the
bands of the woolly bear caterpillar
or networks of isobars derived with
clever mathematical formulae and
mystical manipulations of digital
computers, or try a groundhog, if
you will.

A good forecast (by whatever
method) of winter conditions not
only would give the forecaster a
great feeling of well-being but could
mean a lot to the operator of a ski
resort, or to the oil man who would
like to stockpile oil ahead of need in
the right parts of the country.

A paper by Dr. Franz Bauer of
Frankfurt which noted some inter-
esting associations of November
pressures at certain stations and
winter temperatures in southern
New England has led me to an exam-
ination of November pressures in
1he northern hemisphere and winter
temperatures in the United States.

I have found that the pressure
distribution of November very often
is similar to that of the following
winter, which in turn indicates the
flow of Arctic air. Although some
difficulties remain in the analysis it
appears that the ridge of high pres-
sure which normally connects Siberia
and the U.S.A. in November is of
primary importance. Most of our
coldest winter air comes by way of
this ridge.

22

Two simple cases are illustrated.
In November 1936 the trans-Arctic
ridge entered the States well to the
west of its normal position (arrow).
In the ensuing winter the area west
of the line of zeros had colder than
normal temperatures, while the east
was above normal. But in 1944-1945
after a November ridge which was
well to the east of its normal posi-
tion, the winter conditions reversed
and the east received most of the
cold air. This simple scheme works
well for the winters of this century,
when the trans-Arctic ridge was out
of its normal position but, of course,
often times the ridge has not shown

such a definite dislocation. Means of
forecasting these borderline cases
are being studied now. We were able
to forecast a warm winter for New
England for 1959-60 without much
hesitation and so it occurred. This
year's map, however, gave us trouble
right from the start as the ridge had
not a definite dislocation and the
best we have been able to do so far
is philosophize:

Prudens fururi temporis exitum
Caliginosa nocte premit deus

Maybe Horace was right!

Certain signs precede certain events.

Cicero.

A wise god shrouds the future in obscure
darkness. — Horace.

MR. CHASE is Research Associate in
Meteorology on our staff. His ingenuity
in applying meteorological knowledge to
oceanic problems led him to predicting
haddock populations in relation to pre-
vailing winds during the critical larval
stage.

23

Associates' News

Annual Dinner re-scheduled

Not even Mr. Chase could have made a long range prediction for
the Annual Associates' Dinner which was to take place on February 8th.
The heavy snow in Manhattan made it advisable to re-schedule the meet-
ing for early May.

The noted Swiss scientist, Jacques Piccard who was to be the guest
speaker, promises to come to the Dinner, as originally planned, and will
share with the Associates accounts of his venturesome dives in the
Bathyscaphe.

sympathy to Ronnie Veeder —
His Dinners seem a weather-breeder —
Two years ago a night too warm
And threatened by a thunderstorm,
Last year a record fall of snow,
And this year — well, one couldn't know
And it would hardly be a lark
To get marooned in Central Park.
Oh, speakers, guests and ye who cater,
Expect the Woods Hole Dinner later,
And hope by all your lucky stars
For favorable isobars!

Mr. & Mrs. Henry A. Morss, Jr.

A Splendid Gift

1 HE EUGENIE VIII, a 59-foot sport fisherman has been given to the
Institution by Louis E. Marron, Chairman of the Board of the Coastal Oil
Co., and a member of the Industrial Committee of the Woods Hole Oceano-
graphic Associates.

The EUGENIE VIII, designed to aid sea studies, will be used primarily
for an expanded program of research and fisheries, such as the natural
history studies of pelagic fishes conducted by F. J. Mather III.

Mr. Marron and his wife — after whom the boat is named --hold
several world records for the larger game fish. They have shown their
interest in research by supporting and taking part in research with the
Institution, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and with the
Marine Laboratory of the University of Miami.

Where Are the Ships?

The R.V. 'Crawford' (Capt, D. F. Casiles) left on February 7th on
cruise #61 to study the area of Maximum Salinity in 28° North, 50° West.
The observation program consists of hydrographic stations, current
measurements with Swallow floats and transponding drift buoys. A
toroidal buoy will also be anchored in deep water. Mr. L. V. Worthington
is chief scientist of a party of four. The ship will return about April 4th.

The R.V. 'Bear' (Capt. E. Mysona) is on a three months cruise in the
frigid waters of the Gulf of Maine to aid a U.S. Navy evaluation study.

24

MBL/WHOI LIBRARY

UH 17ZM A

Associates

of the

Woods Hole Ocean ographic Institution

(A private, non-profit, research organization)

T,

HE ASSOCIATES of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are a group
of individuals, corporations and other organizations who, because of their love
for the sea and interest in science and education, support and encourage the
research and related activities of the Institution.

Membership dues in the Associates are as follows:

Member $50

Contributing Member $100

Patron $500

Life Member $1,000

Corporate Member $1,000

Sustaining Corporate Member $5,000 or more.

All contributions and dues are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

NOEL B. McLEAN, President

JOHN A. GIFFORD. Secretary

RONALD A. VEEDER, Executive Assistant

CHARLES F. ADAMS
BENJAMIN H. ALTON
WINSLOW CARLTON
RACHEL L. CARSON
W. VAN ALAN CLARK
PRINCE S. CROWELL
F. HAROLD DANIELS

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

JOHN A. GIFFORD
PAUL HAMMOND
NOEL B. MCLEAN
HENRY S. MORGAN
MALCOLM S. PARK
GERARD SWOPE, JR.
THOMAS J. WATSON. JR.
JAMES H. WICKERSHAM

Contents

Arf»c/es

DEEP CURRENTS IN THE OPEN OCEAN 2

by Mary Swallow

AN INTERPRETATION OF THE DEEP CURRENTS 9

by C. O.'D. Iselin

TONS OF TUNA 14

by F. J. Mather III

FORECASTING NEW ENGLAND WINTERS 22

by J. Chose

Feofures

WHERE ARE THE SHIPS? 1O

GULF STREAM MEANDERINGS 12

SUBMARINERS AID PORPOISE STUDIES 2O

ASSOCIATES' NEWS 24

Published by the

WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION

WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS