VOL. IX NO. 1 SEPTEMBER 1962

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

Founder Chairman

NOEL B. McLEAN

Chairman, Board of Trustees

PAUL M. FYE

President and Director

COLUMBUS O'D ISELIN

H. B. Bige/oiv Qceanographtr

BOSTWICK H. KETCHUM

Associate Director of Biology and Chemistry

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution • Woods Hole, Massachusetts

THE COVER PHOTO IS BY

,-v

VOL. IX, No. 1, September 1962

The scientific party on board the 'Erika
Dan' had its rough moments but, one
could retire to the comfort and spacious-
ness supplied by the size of the ship, the
co-operation of officers and crew and
the solicitousness of the owners, the
J. Lauritzen Co. (see: page 21.)

Editorial

VOL. IX, No. 1, September 1962

I

. T IS THUS that science, which is gradually preparing the means for
converting the globe into one great organism for the benefit of mankind,
points out the way for making it the abode of that harmony, peace and
plenty which has been dreamed of by the poets of all time. For it is only
necessary that our moral progress should keep pace with our advance in
knowledge. The globe will never become the abode of perfect harmony
until men are united in a universal league of justice and peace. And in
aiding toward the production of this most desirable consummation, what
has been here written will show how important has been the part taken

by the ocean.

From: "Ocean's story"

or

Triumphs of Thirty Centuries;

A graphic description of Maritime Adventures, Achievements, Explorations,
Discoveries and Inventions: and of the Rise and Progress of Ship-building
and Ocean-Navigation from the Ark to the Iron Steamships,

By Frank B. Goodrich, Esq.

With an account of adventures beneath the Sea; Diving, Dredging, Deep Sea
Sounding, Latest Submarine Explorations, &c., &c., Prepared with great
care by Edward Rowland, Esq.

Hubbard Bros., Philadelphia, Boston and Cincinnati.

1873

The 'Erika Dan' at Godthaab, Greenland

' ^jf^9£i

4&e&&i'.

trzarz.

K-3**

.

-*=~ ~~- - •*-

X

o
or

Model studies of large
in the ocean and in the
led to studies of fund;
in fluid dynamics.

Suspended on o platform over fhe old

4-meter rotating model basin, Dr. Falter

(right) studies the circulation in the North

Atlantic Ocean.

Dyes are added to the water in the sectors

to simulate the Gulf Stream and test a

specific theory why currents are strongest on

the western sides of the oceans.

Atmospheric

Model Studies

BY A. J. FALLER

i(

M,

-ODEL studies of fluid circula-
tions in rotating systems at the
Institution began with the successful
attempts by von Arx to simulate the
wind-driven circulations of the
oceans. These experiments are now a
matter of record1 and need not be
elaborated upon here except to note
two pertinent points: 1) the avail-
ability of the large rotating appar-
atus was the single factor which was
responsible for the presence of this
author at Woods Hole; and 2) these
experiments provided certain back-
ground information and methods
which indicated the feasibility of
other more quantitative experiments
related to the ocean circulation.

Some of the first results of our
attempts, starting in 1954, to "model"
atmospheric flow patterns are shown.
In these experiments (and many
other which are not illustrated here)
it was demonstrated that the struc-
tures of atmospheric fronts, wave
cyclones and even the "jet stream"
could be simulated readily in an ex-
ceedingly simple model. For example,
these models were symmetrical in
that they contained no topography
and no land-ocean contrasts. Further-
more, water replaced air as the fluid
and there was no physical process to
simulate the effects of precipitation.
Thus, these experiments demon-
strated that many of the complex
weather systems which we observe
might well occur in the atmosphere
without the complicating influences
mentioned above.

i See: "A Small World", Oceanus, Vol IV
No. 4.

Model Studies

Nevertheless, as interesting as
these experiments may be, their con-
tribution to our understanding is
limited. Without elaborate measure-
ments little useful information can
be obtained for detailed comparison
with the atmosphere; and even when
such comparison can be made it
often has little meaning unless it is
accompanied by theoretical under-
standing.

A somewhat more simple experi-
mental study, to test a specific theory
related to the ocean circulation, is
illustrated here by a sequence of
photographs. In this example the
circulation was generated by insert-
ing water slowly through a tube at
the source (So) and by withdrawing
at the same rate at the sink (Si).
The relevant question was: What
will be the path which the water
follows in flowing from So to Si?
The result, which is somewhat con-
trary to one's intuition, fully con-
firmed the theoretical prediction. The
volume rate of flow from the source
to the left hand boundary of the
sector was ten times the source rate.
Of the flow to the left nine parts re-
circulated to the source and one part
moved rapidly toward the sink in a
narrow boundary.

With some stretch of the imagina-
tion the 60 degree sector may become
the North Atlantic Ocean2. Further-
more the narrow boundary current
on the "western" side of the model
may be thought of as similar to the
Gulf Stream. The generation of a
circulation by sources and sinks of
fluid may be thought of as similar to
the effect of a distribution of evap-
oration and precipitation, although it
is also possible to obtain theoretical
analogy with wind-driven circula-
tion. This experiment then, is one in
which similarity with a system
existing in nature was planned and
is apparent, but which is simplified
to the extent that theoretical analysis
and understanding is possible.

\

10 minutes

20 minutes

40 minutes

2 Here a concession must be made to prac-
ticing physical oceanographers who will
claim that the North Atlantic offers
obstacles not encountered in the laboratory.

Simplified model of an ocean circulation
caused by the flow of colored water in a
sector spun at 10 r.p.m. The water at the
rim was twice as deep as the apex.
(see text).

Spiral Flow

More recently experimental stud-
ies were shifted to the 4-meter
rotating tank which was housed in
the old hydrodynamics laboratory on
the dock. Although this apparatus
eventually became useless (because
of periodic inundations by salt water,
seaweed, and sand) a successful
series of basic hydrodynamic experi-
ments on the stability of the Ekman
boundary layer was accomplished.
By pumping water from the center
of the tank and resupplying it at the
rim, a vortex circulation was gener-
ated. The required radial flow from

the rim to the center took place
entirely in a very shallow boundary
layer at the bottom of the tank
approximately l/10th of an inch
deep in a total water depth of 10
inches. Streaks from potassium per-
manganate crystals near the rim
show this spiral flow toward the
center. Because the speed of flow in-
creased toward the center, the
boundary layer flow at the bottom of
the tank became turbulent at a
certain radius in the accompanying
figure at approximately 6/10th of the
radius of the tank. Within this radius,
the dye first shows a spiral band
structure, and closer to the center a
more turbulent flow.

/

Although this study was designed
to be an experiment in basic fluid
dynamics it happens that there is
similarity with two important na-
tural phenomena. The first of these
is the spiral bands of precipitation
observed in radar photographs of
hurricanes which heretofore have
defied satisfactory explanation. The
structure of the experimental vortex
is similar in many respects to that
of a hurricane where the speed of
flow increases toward the center
with a layer of frictional inflow
approximately one mile deep. The
hurricane bands spiral inward with
an angle of about 18 degrees (com-
pared to 15 degrees in the model.)
Their average spacing is about
twelve times the depth of the layer
of inflow compared to the factor of
eleven in the model. The dark bands
of dye indicate regions of conver-
gence near the bottom of the tank r
and upward flow just above the bot-
torn, while of course the cloud

precipitation bands indicate similar!
rising motions in the atmosphere^
The validity of this comparison is ,
supported by other details, but^the /
point to be emphasized is the relfrcion
of much simplified experimems^to
complex natural occurrence^ <•

Mosaic of TIROS III photos taken on Sep-
tember 11, 1961, showing hurricanes
"Debbie" and "Esther" at 31° N. 47° W.
and 15° N. 38° W. respectively. The spiral
band structure of the clouds is clearly evi-
dent although the well-defined regular
bands which frequently appear on radar
are somewhat obscured by higher clouds.
Experimental studies suggest that the spiral
bands are due to the fact that the upward
motions, which cause the clouds, originate
in the low-level flow spiraling into the storm
center.

FALLER

In "Project Litterbug" sheets of 8'/2 x 1 1 "
writing paper were thrown out of our air-
plane from 1000 feet and smoke flares were
dropped to show that an angle of about 8°
exists between the wind direction and the
lines of convergence at the water surface.

The spiral bands of dye, shown on page 5,
also may offer an explanation of these
Langmuir circulation cells in the ocean which
concentrate Sargassum weed and debris in
long lines nearly parallel to the wind.

The progression of fronfs and fhe evolution
of cyclonic storms are shown in fhree phofos
made in /he atmospheric model tank. Taken
at intervals of two revolutions of the tank
(representing two days in nature) the photos
are printed in negative to emphasize the
similarity between the patterns of dye, which
are normally dark against a white back-
ground, and fhe patterns of clouds in the
atmosphere as shown by a series of Tiros
photographs over the North Pacific. A sur-
face weather map is superimposed on the
Tiros mosaic.

Cloud information from

The facilities of the new hydrody-
namics laboratory and new rotating
tank in the Laboratory of Oceanog-
raphy offer new opportunities for
expansion of our studies of the cir-
culation of fluids in rotating systems.
As the accompanying photographs
show it is often necessary to observe
details of the circulation while the
tank is spinning rapidly. To observe

these details we now have a closed-
circuit TV camera which rotates
with the tank so that the pattern of
flow can be seen on a stationery
TV screen. Other improvements in
control of the apparatus and instru-
mentation will allow detailed
measurements to test theoretical
predictions and to prove basic in-
formation for further model studies.

DR. FALLER, meteorologist on our staff, joined the Institution in 1954 on a summer
fellowship. In 1957-58 he was at the University of Chicago as primary investigator at the
Hydrodynamics laboratory. In 1960-1961 he attended the International Institute of
Meteorology at Stockholm on a Guggenheim Fellowship.

a series of Tiros photographs superimposed on a surface weather map.

o

CD
O)

CE
LJ

BL

Lil

Modi

A multiple flash photograph showing the circulation in an atmospheric model. From the
five images of each paper disk, floating on the water surface, the speed, acceleration,
and rotation of the flow are directly determined. A four wave pattern around the tank

may be readily identified.

A comparison of a Northern Hemisphere weather map wit

The arrows indicate flow at the bottom of the tank as determined from streaks of dye.
Lines of convergent flow become cold and warm fronts and are associated with the

cyclones (C) and anticyclones (A).

10

tudies

Here the flow on the water surface is indicated by streaks from paper disks during a
20 second time exposure, while the camera was rotating with the tank. By confining the
flow to a channel between two vertical walls and by cooling at the central wall, four to
six equally spaced regular waves may be formed. The regularity and reproducibility of
these waves makes them suitable for detailed measurement.

atterns from the rotating-tank model of the atmosphere.

A surface weather map for a day in March 1959 (chosen at random from the Historical

Weather Map Series) showing a typical pattern of frontal systems, cyclones (L) and

anticyclones (H) over the Northern Hemisphere to latitude 25° N.

11

Clouds

In

Tanks

12

CUMULUS are atmospheri
clouds with flat bases and
round turreted summits.
Strong vertical currents — a
source of bumpiness to flyers

result from the buoyancy
of the cloud air. The boxed
region in the cloud photo-
graph shows a region where
buoyant air is ascending
rapidly.

In an attempt to learn about
the nature of ascending cur-
rents in cumulus clouds Peter
M. Saunders, first Rossby
Fellow at the Institution, has
made some simple experi-
ments in liquids. A mass of
warm dyed water is released
at the bottom of a tank of
cold water: a photograph of
the ascending 'cloud' is shown.
Despite the great complexity
of atmospheric clouds the
experiments have proved val-
uable in interpreting the
behaviour of cumulus.

A photo of Dr. Saunders and his cloud
chamber also appeared in the August
17 issue of LIFE in an article on
thunderstorms.

In the Gulf Stream

IN this dramatic photograph by
Robert M. Snyder the full strength of
the Gulf Stream-flowing at some
4 knots — is forcefully demonstrated.
Since there are no reference points
at sea it is difficult for the seaman or

yachtsman to realize the Stream's
velocity. One of our anchored buoys
on the Bermuda Line (see: Oceanus,
VIII, No. 3) provided an opportunity
for a visual demonstration of the
current's strength.

13

The bottle compared

with a modern product

of a noted brewer.

An Erratic

LEIGH

A

GREEN glass bottle was recovered
from the seabed, together with a large
heap of miscellaneous stones, by
dredging on a seamount off Cape
Finisterre, Spain. (DISCOVERY Sta-
tion 4272; lat. 42°48' long. 11°38';
depth 600 fm). The bottle has been
subjected to a mechanical analysis
(Krumbein 1941) with the following
results:

size grade 0 = 5 ¥2

(a = 245 mm b = c = 63 mm)

rounding index R ==< 0.1
sphericity T : - 0.52

shape class (Z^ing) : IV

The extreme angularity of the bot-
tle suggests that it has suffered little
abrasion during transport; this con-
clusion is supported by the fact that
the bottle is unbroken. The absence
of manganese encrustation indicates
that it has not been on the bottom
very long.

The bottle has sutures round its
upper parts which are interpreted as
the marks of a hand operated mould.
The neck of the bottle, where the
cork goes, has evidently been wound
on as a single strip of glass after the
manufacture of the rest of the bottle.
An exhaustive review of previous
literature on bottle taxonomy has
been given by Chas. B. Hunt (1959).
It appears from this work that the
'subsequent' application of neck, and

Beer Bottle

the fact that it was designed for a
cork rather than for a crown top, indi-
cate a late 19th century date of
manufacture.

On its base the bottle is inscribed:
2658 C.S. and Co. Ltd. This is con-
sidered to indicate an English-speak-
ing origin.

It is concluded that this bottle was
transported, probably from England
about the year 1900, and thrown
overboard from a ship off the coast of
Spain.

The author wishes to thank Sir
Edward Bullard, F.R.S. for his active
support throughout the work, and for
drawing attention to the key refer-
ence. The research is a remote by-
product of O. N. R. Contract No.
62558-2704 for which we are grateful.

D. H. Matthews

Madingley Rise,
Madingley Road,
CAMBRIDGE,
England.
June 13th, 1962

REFERENCES

Hunt, C. B., 1959, Geotimes, 3, 8-11.
Krumbein, W. C., 1941, J. Sed. Petr. 11, 64-72.
Vansberg, N., 1952, Econ. Geol. 47.

I'liiiiiiliiiiiliiiMiiiiMiiirilMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiliiliiiiiiij

1 Although OCEANUS does not present

? original scientific contributions, but con-

= fines itself to providing the background

| of scientific developments, we felt that

= the paper by Dr. Matthews is of such vital

| interest that for once, we could not pre-

5 vent ourselves of wanting to "scoop" the

= Scientific Press.

? To do so properly we appointed a "ref-
= eree" who commented as follows:

14

Dear Sir,

ITH reference to the paper by
Dr. D. H. Matthews, entitled "An
Erratic Beer Bottle", I would like to
make the following cogent points:

a) Manganese deposition probably
will not occur on glass. A close study
of the literature provides no evidence
for bottles, spectacles or tumblers
ever having been recovered from the
deep sea with manganese encrusta-
tion.

b) Dr. Matthews is apparently not
aware of the stage of bottle manufac-
ture when "screw tops" were used.
He has provided no evidence that the
bottle could not have been designed
for use with a "screw top"; it is pos-
sible that although there is no evi-
dence of external abrasion, that
internal abrasion could have removed
evidence of a screw thread.

c) The evidence for an "English-
speaking origin" of the bottle is well
justified. Dr. Matthews, however,
should have pointed out that he was
(as is becoming more necessary) ex-
cluding American 'English" since
"and Co. Ltd." is restricted to Britain
and parts of the British Common-
wealth. The United States equivalent,
as all your readers know, is "Inc."

d) It is not well established that the
bottle was "thrown overboard from a
ship off the coast of Spain." Personal
observations (unpublished) indicate
that bottles can float and it can there-
fore be deduced that they will be
subject to movements of the surface
water. Dr. Matthews may not be
aware of the existence of surface
currents, although this is strange
since in the same area on the same
expedition a dredge (doubtlessly
filled with more bottles from wider
geological horizons) was lost through
the existence of such currents.

e) It is interesting that Dr. Matthews
considers it likely that the bottle con-
tained beer. If this is so, and if the
bottle was cast overboard (empty)
near where it was retrieved, then it
is likely the ship was outward bound

from Britain. In those days bottled
beer would not keep long enough to
be carried to the far flung outposts of
the Empire and back again. If it was
flung over when full, then the ship
could have been homeward bound
and the beer rotten.

f) We note the acknowledgement of
the help of Sir Edward Bullard, him-
self a noted Director of a large brew-
ery. We are surprised that the full
resources of the brewery were not
used to interpret the numbers and
initials on the base of the bottle.

I am sorry to write such criticism
of Dr. Matthews, who at one time was
a student of mine. I would not, how-
ever, wish it to be believed that inade-
quate research and conclusions such
as are given in this paper represent
the usual quality coming from my
students.

I am,

Your obedient and
humble servant,
M. N. Hill.

University of Cambridge

Although this bottle was not dredged
up, hence cannot be analyzed, it may
be another beer bottle, providing
evidence of substantial bottle deposits
in the deep ocean. The photograph
was made during 'Atlantis' cruise
#260, during the first lowering of an
underwater camera in the Hydro-
grapher Canyon at a depth of 450 to
500 fathoms. The murkiness of the
photograph is no doubt due to the fact
that it was taken in the murky ocean
depths.

I

15

;V

Dr. J. C. Swallow on board the 'Erika Dan' last winter

Bigelow Medal

During the Annual Trustees' meeting held on August 15th and 16th, the H. B.
Bigelow Medal was awarded to Dr. J. C. Swallow of the National Institute of
Oceanography: Dr. Bigelow presented the medal, while Dr. W. S. von Arx read
the following citation:

16

A,

.LUMINUM scaffold tubing served
its purpose ashore for many years, but
remained unnoticed by oceanogra-
phers until John Swallow found that it
can be used to form a floating volume
that is less compressible than sea
water. A short length of tube, fitted
with end plugs and properly
weighted, will sink to a predeter-
mined level in the ocean and remain
there to drift with the surrounding
currents. Since the tube needs bal-
last, it is convenient to stack batteries
and electronics within it to provide
power for a high-frequency sound
generator, or "pinger", which reveals
the position of the tube without
direct physical contact that might
disturb its free drift.

This forthright instrument, the
Swallow Float, has become the prin-
cipal tool for the study of deep water
circulations. The results of these
studies have revolutionized our con-
ceptions of the character of the deep
water motions. Instead of the slug-
gish widespread drift anticipated
from continuity considerations, the
deep layers seem to be moving
briskly and not in accordance with
any known process. Here then, is a
scientific fact that challenges the
imagination.

No one is more aware of this than
Dr. Swallow. Since 1955, when the
first trials of the float were made,
there has not been a year in which
he has not been at sea in pursuit of
further understanding of the char-
acter of the deep layer motions. In
1955 and 1956 he worked in the east-
ern basin of the North Atlantic
aboard 'Discovery II'. In the follow-
ing year he brought 'Discovery II' to
join 'Atlantis' in a cooperative study
of a deep countercurrent off South
Carolina. In 1957 he worked again in
the eastern basin from the Nor-
wegian research ship 'Helland-
Hansen'. Next, in 1958, he worked off
Gibraltar. By 1960 he had concluded
a year-long investigation of the deep
motions to the south of the Gulf
Stream. In 1961 he took part in the
International Expedition to investi-
gate the Faeroe-Shetland overflow
from the Norwegian Sea. During the
past winter he joined the 'Erika Dan'
to measure the deep currents off
Greenland and Labrador.

Bigelow Medal

John Crossley Swallow was born
at Newmill, Yorkshire, England, on
llth October, 1923. He began his
education at Holme Valley School.
In 1940 he was awarded a Scholar-
ship at St. John's College, Cam-
bridge. He read mathematics and
physics for two years after which he
joined the Admiralty Signal Estab-
lishment, working mainly at the East
Indies Station until 1947, He then
returned to Cambridge was gradu-
ated with First Class Honors in
Physics, and then joined the Depart-
ment of Geodesy and Geophysics to
work on techniques for seismic
prospecting at sea. He applied these
techniques extensively during a
round-the-world voyage of H.M.S.
'Challenger' during the period 1950-
1952 and continued this work in the
North Atlantic during 1953. He was
awarded the Cambridge Ph.D. Degree
in 1954 for a thesis on "Seismic
Investigations at Sea". He joined the
National Institute of Oceanography
in 1954 where, one year later, he used
his first neutrally-buoyant float for
tracking deep water movements.

Dr. Swallow has the rare quality
of being almost equally at home with
theoretical or practical problems and
has a quiet relish for arduous work
at sea. The forethought he gives to
each fresh effort has won him a
reputation for accomplishment in the
face of the severe odds which con-
front anyone who attempts to do
new things at sea.

It is also characteristic of Dr.
Swallow to be modest. On being in-
formed of his nomination as Henry
Bryant Bigelow medalist, his first
impulse was to think that there must
be some mistake, and his second, to
go out and clean a few drains to
regain his sense of proportion.

The Henry Bryant Bigelow medal
is a new symbol of recognition and
honor. In John Crossley Swallow we
find not only one to honor by this
symbol but also one whose qualities
as a scientist and as a man bring
significance to the Bigelow medal as
a mark of scientific accomplishment.

See: "The Pinger", Oceanus, Vol. V, 3 and 4;
"Deep Currents in the Open Ocean", Vol.
VII, 3; "A Medal for Dr. Bigelow",
Vol. 'VII, 4.

17

New Building

JUNE 14th, the Institution re-
ceived a grant of $2,000,000 from the
National Science Foundation for the
construction of a Marine Research
Laboratory. Construction work was
started immediately.

The new building will provide
much needed space since the older
two laboratories and various tempo-
rary buildings have been extremely
crowded. It is intended to move all
the biological and chemical labora-
tories to the new site, thereby freeing
space for use by physical oceano-
graphers, meteorologists and sub-
marine geologists.

The building will be of concrete
slab construction and will consist of
three floors providing about 50,000
square feet of floor area with space
for about 150 investigators.

An auditorium seating 250 will be
attached to one side. Outside there is
to be a parking area for 25 cars, a
reflecting pool and a landscaped area.

In the planning stage for several
years, the building was designed by
Kilham, Hopkins, Greeley and
Brodie, Boston architects. Laborator-
ies and offices will be located around
a central core of services, including
freight elevator and deep freeze
plants. The structure is to be air-
conditioned, if funds hold out, and
will also contain a small salt water
aquarium for research purposes.

There will be a sigh of relief when
the new laboratory is finished in
1963. During the summer months our
chemical and biological investigators
have been reduced to about 80 square
feet per person and are also occupy-
ing space originally intended as a
warehouse. This will be the third
large laboratory built by or for the
Institution. The original building was
erected in 1930 with the aid of funds
from the Rockefeller Foundation and
the Carnegie Institution. The Labora-
tory of Oceanography, dedicated in
1954, was constructed for our use by
the Office of Naval Research.

18

Larva of blackftn tuna, 11.5 mm (± '/2 inch) in fork length, taken in drifting plankton net by
the R.V. 'Crawford' off San Salvador in the Bahamas (22° 54' N -- 75°01' W). The exterior
view and a soft x-ray photograph (retouched) of the larvae are approximately 18 times en-
larged. Blackfln tuna have 19 precaudal (1-19) and 20 caudal vertebrae (20-39). This count
distinguishes them from the other 4 species of tuna which share alike a count of 18 + 21
vertebrae. As the five species of larval tunas in the Atlantic Ocean are essentially identical in
external appearance, the analysis of soft x-ray photographs offers the only solution for
distinguishing one from another.

Tuna Larva

BY M. WATSON

An x-ray technique makes it possible
to distinguish larva of various tuna
species.

A

KNOWLEDGE of the time and
area of spawning is one of the basic
requirements for the intelligent de-
velopment of a fishery. In the case of
tuna this information is largely un-
known.

Tuna eggs are difficult to obtain and
hard to identify. However, we have
been able to obtain a considerable
collection of tuna larvae — mostly less
than one inch long --by dipnetting at
night from our own ships and through
loans of collections from the Uni-
versity of Miami Marine Laboratory
and from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. An excellent series of tuna
larvae and juvenile tuna taken in the
Straits of Messina came from a pri-
vate collector, G. Arena.

There are six known species of tuna
in the world: the blackfin which is
restricted to the western Atlantic,
the long-tail found only in the Pacific,
and four circumglobal travelers: the
bluefin, albacore, yellowfin and big-
eye. The larvae of these six species
appear identical but have been dis-
tinguished from one another, by
previous investigators, on the basis
of differences in pigmentation. We
found pigmentation such a variable
characteristic that precise identifica-
tion was untenable. Thus,we explored

BRAY

a new method by using the soft x-ray
technique. Through the co-operation
of Dr. Dorothy Travis of the Ortho-
paedic Research Laboratory of the
Massachusetts General Hospital, the
author was able to use their equip-
ment and succeeded in photographing
the vertebral characteristics of four
of the five western Atlantic species
of larval tuna. Thus, certain identifi-
cation became possible for the first
time.

The characteristics of the vertebrae
of adult tuna are detectable by using
hard x-ray techniques which can be
made with ordinary hospital equip-
ment. Larval fish, however, do not
have calcified vertebrae, the segments
show clearly only on soft x-ray
photographs. The expensive technical
equipment found in medical and
industrial research finds more and
more applications in fishery research.
As we could not obtain the expen-
sive equipment from a governmental
grant already delegated to an
assigned budget - - a donation from
a philanthropic source was needed.
We are truly appreciative of a gener-
ous gift from the Charles W. Brown
Jr. Memorial Foundation which made
it possible to purchase soft x-ray
equipment. The gift enabled us also
to convert a power supply donated
by F. Hess of the Institution. Dr. Ulf
Friberg of the Massachusetts General
Hospital designed and supervised the
construction of the equipment which
is not available commercially. Dr.
R. H. Backus and Dr. G. Mead also are
planning to use the equipment in
their study of bathypelagic fishes.

MRS. WATSON is research assistant to
F. J. Mather, III, who is in charge of the
study of large pelagic fishes.

19

A gale in the northern north Atlantic
covers the foc's'le and the rigging of
the 'Erika Dan' with a coat of ice.
Gales, ice, snow and rain were en-
countered as well as unusually
pleasant and calm weather.

WRIGHT

WRIGHT

It was difficult to learn to work with
gloves or mittens and often it become
necessary to work bareheaded.
J. C. Swallow, G. W. Metcalf and an
unrecognizable helper at work during
a snow storm fixing the transducer of
the echosounder. Trie fiberglass covers
of the transducer were used as sleds
by the scientific party while going
down the glaciers in Godthaab ,
Greenland.

20

A

With the conclusion of the 'Erika Dan'
cruise the general oceanographic survey of
the North Atlantic has been completed. The
I.G.Y. surveys left only one large gap and
that was the Labrador Basin. More detailed
studies are necessary in many areas, par-
ticularly accompanied by direct current
measurements, but the physical geography
of the North Atlantic is now known on a
broad basis.

BY L. V. WORTHINGTON

From 17 January to 4 May the
Danish ice-breaker 'Erika Dan' was
under charter to the Institution for
a cruise to the Labrador Sea and
Davis Strait. The ship sailed from
Copenhagen on January 20th and
made a section across the Atlantic at
latitude 53°30' North. Following this
she made seven sections across the
Labrador Basin and the Davis Strait
before returning to Copenhagen. On
the return voyage a section was
completed across the Atlantic at
59°31' North. A total of 213 hydro-
graphic stations were made during
this cruise, and continuous echo-
soundings were made.

The basic purpose of the cruise
was to examine late winter conditions
in the Labrador Sea where the high-
est surface water densities are found
in the Atlantic. It has been con-
tended that North Atlantic Deep
Water which comprises about half
the total volume of the Atlantic
Ocean is formed in this area each
winter*. In the winter of 1961-1962
our observations showed that no such
process was taking place as the
density in the upper layers was a
great deal too low to replace deep
water. The data from this cruise are
under-going the laborious process of
checking, and a closer analysis of
this matter will be undertaken.

The process which does appear to
be active, at the present time, is the
overflow of water from the Nor-
wegian Sea into the Labrador Basin
through the Denmark Strait. The
progress of this overflow was traced
from the neighborhood of Cape Fare-
well across the Davis Strait and
down the Labrador Slope as far as
the Grand Banks. We were fortunate
in having Dr. J. C. Swallow partici-
pate in this cruise. Under his direc-
tion deep current measurements
were made off Cape Farewell and off
Newfoundland. The Swallow floats
indicated that the deep overflow
water was moving at about 8 cm/sec
(± 1/5 knot) off Cape Farewell and
about 5 cm/sec off Newfoundland.
Richardson current meter measure-
ments were made at both Swallow
float sites. Unfortunately, the Rich-
ardson buoy was carried away in a
gale off Cape Farewell and the cur-
rent meters were lost. Off Newfound-
land the current meters gave
velocities closely comparable to those
obtained by Swallow floats. There is
a puzzle about the current direction;
the current meters indicated pre-
dominantly southerly flow while the
Swallow floats showed predomi-
nantly easterly flow. Hydrographic
stations accompanied the measure-
ments, possibly the distribution of
pressure gradients in the area will
account for the discrepancy in cur-
rent directions.

*See: "How old is deep water?" Oceanus,
Vol. VIII, 3.

21

A NEW SYSTEM FOR (THE AUTOMATIC MEASUREMENTlOF GRAVITY AT SEA

'RAVITY measurements from surface ships have been made for several
years but involved several months of data processing. A new system
installed on the R.V. 'Chain' reduces this tedious work to one minute.

In the early 1920's F. A. Vening Meinesz of Holland developed a method of
swinging two pendulums at the same time in the same swinging plane which
allowed him to make gravity measurements in the mobile soil of northern
and western Holland. In the summer of 1923 this instrument was taken on
aboard a submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The success of these
and following experiments led Vening Meinesz into an impressive career
as a pioneer of marine gravity studies. In 1956 Anton Graf of Germany
published a description of a sea gravimeter he had developed and the
results of tests made on Lake Starnberg. LaCoste and Romberg of Austin,
Texas modified one of their submarine gravity meters for surface measure-
ments. This meter was first tested in the spring of 1958. Since these earlier
trials gravity measurements from surface ships have become increasingly
common and routine.

BY c. BOWIN

T<

O the few people watching a
particular typewriter at 1723 GMT
on July 17, 1962 there was a thrilling
sense of importance. The indicator
lights on the control panel of a com-
puter were blinking at their micro-
second pace, and then after seven
seconds the typewriter printed the
world's first values of gravity to be
collected and reduced automatically
at the same time as the measure-
ments were being made. Thus, a
year's planning came to fulfillment
in the North Atlantic aboard the
R.V. 'Chain' during Cruise #28.

The Institution obtained the thir-
teenth sea gravity meter made by the
La Coste and Romberg Company of
Austin, Texas. The instrument and its
attendant IBM computer system were
housed in an air conditioned structure
built on the main laboratory deck of
the 'Chain'.

The reduction of gravity data is
complicated even ashore, on a ship
the situation is made more difficult
by the effect of waves on the vessel,
and by the motion of the ship over
the solid earth. The ground speed of
the ship has the effect of increasing

22

or decreasing the centrifugal force
exerted on masses within the ship
(including the weight on the beam
in the gravity meter) depending on
whether the ship is moving with or
against the rotation of the earth. Lack
of accurate knowledge of the ship's
speed over the bottom is the largest
single source of error. The effect of
the waves on the ship are more
easily surmounted. The rolling of the
ship is automatically compensated by
an analog computer and a horizontal
reference system built into the Sea"
Gravimeter. The pitching is ac-
counted for by averaging the output
of the gravity meter over periods
ranging from five to ten or more
minutes.

The automatic system that success-
fully had its first sea trials on 'Chain'
Cruise #28 consisted of a Sea Gravi-
meter, data conversion units electri-
cally connected to the gravity meter,
the ship's gyrocompass, and the
ship's Electro-Magnetic speed log, an
IBM 1710 computer (the combination
of a 1620 Computer and a 1711 Ana-
log to digital converter), and type-
writer and paper tape output units.
The system automatically scanned
the position of the gravity meter
beam, the gyrocompass, and the
ship's log. The spring tension of the

gravimeter and the depth of ocean
were inserted manually. During
'Chain' Cruise #29 it is planned to
make these last two inputs also
automatic.

The gyrocompass and the log pro-
vide the heading of the ship and its
speed through the water. This infor-
mation is used in dead reckoning
computations made every minute and
gives the ship's position between astro-
nomical fixes. If the heading and speed
of ocean currents are approximately
known, this information may also be
inserted. Topography of the ocean
floor is also needed for the calcula-
tion of certain gravity anomalies and
for the interpretation of the struc-
ture of the earth's crust beneath the
waters of the sea.

The typewriter output is used for
checking the functioning of the
system and for analyzing data while
at sea. The paper tape is used for
later processing of the data by com-
puter and electrical plotting tech-
niques.

The system described here did not,
and could not, appear magically. It
developed from the aid, support, and
encouragement of many people in
many capacities. To all of these, the
author is deeply appreciative.

The Sea Gravimeter
and part of the IBM
system were built into
a small air-conditioned
hut in the main labora-
tory of the 'Chain'.

BERNSTEIN

23

Captain W. Scott Bray

C

APTAIN W. Scott Bray, former Master of the R.V. 'Atlantis', succumbed to
a long illness on June 23, 1962. A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Captain Bray
began his sea-going career in 1930 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served
a four year term and, after gaining experience as a seaman on cargo vessels and
tankers, he was graduated from the U.S. Maritime Training School in 1944. In
1948 he received an unlimited masters license.

He came to the Institution in the fall of 1952 and in June of 1953 was made
Master of the 'Atlantis'. Those of us privileged to sail with him were well aware
of his ability as a seaman and the ease with which he made friends for the Insti-
tution afloat and ashore. Few, if any, suspected the technical skill he exhibited
as a photo-microscopist during the past few years, after illness forced him to
retire from the sea. A versatile and ingenious experimenter, he made excellent
photo-micrographs of subjects ranging from tuna larvae to sand grains. His latest
efforts included investigation of a method of correlating the environmental
history of sand grains with their surface texture when examined by
polarized light.

R. S. Edwards

Harry Wexler (1911-1962)

I

T has been a privilege for many summers to have Dr. Wexler at Woods
Hole, bringing his enthusiasm, vision, friendly skepticism, and energetic dis-
cussions to so many phases of our work in oceanography and meteorology.

Although he was far from old at his sudden death, Harry Wexler was one
of the real pioneers in American meteorology; he was one of Professor
C. -G. Rossby's first students at pre-war M.I.T. His main role in recent years
has been Director of Research of the U.S. Weather Bureau. He stood out as one
of the few scientific administrators who continued as a first-class contributor
to his field, so that his direction was by example, inspiration, and the sound
criticism of a respected peer. He contributed original research to a broad
range of topics, including arctic meteorology and ocean currents, low-level
jet streams, and hurricane rain bands. He dedicated himself to furthering
international cooperation in meteorology, for which he recently received a
Presidential Award.

With all this responsibility, Harry Wexler found time to think, and to
study and explore with us at Woods Hole. In 1960, he participated as both
student and teacher in our Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Summer Program;
he will live long therefrom as an illustration that a man's learning and pro-
ductive years do not stop at age forty.

Just this summer, Dr. Wexler had accepted a position on the Institution's

Scientific Visiting Committees. His loss to us in this role is deeply felt. But

his example will remain to guide us for many years: it demonstrates that a

man can both successfully contribute to and guide the direction of his science

- and live as a warm and kindly human being as well.

Joanne S. Malkus

24

N

o

CD

MBL/WHOI LIBRARY

UH 17ZA 6

Associates'
News

The British twelve meter 'Sceptre'
and the successful defender 'Colum-
bia' as seen by our Associates dur-
ing the I960 America's Cup Races.

Ti

America's Cup Race

HE Annual Meeting and Summer Cruise of the Associates of the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution will take place on September 15th.
Associates have been invited to watch the first race for the America's Cup
off Newport, R. I., from the R.V. 'Atlantis'.

J.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.

HOMER H. EWING, President

RONALD A. VEEDER, Executive Assistant

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

CHARLES F. ADAMS
WINSLOW CARLTON
RACHEL L. CARSON
W. VAN ALAN CLARK
PRINCE S. CROWELL
F. HAROLD DANIELS
JOHN A. GIFFORD

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

/^

L X

•••

Contents

VOL. \X, No. 1, September 1962

,rf/c/es

ATMOSPHERIC MODEL STUDIES

by A. J. Faller

TUNA LARVA

by M. Watson

ERIKA DAN' CRUISE

by L. V. Washington

GRAVITY MEASUREMENTS

fay C. Bowin

CLOUDS IN TANKS

IN THE GULF STREAM

AN ERRATIC BEER BOTTLE

DR. SWALLOW RECEIVES

BIGEL'OW MEDAL

NEW BUILDING

,

IN MEMORIAM

-

^

Published by the

WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION

WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS