The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1857-07-03
The Gulf Stream in the Atlantic.

The Gulf Stream in the Atlantic.
The general description Of the GulfStreal
apart from any present question as to i
sources Is, that Of o vast and rapid ocean
; current, issuing from the basin Of the Me1
ican Gulf and Caribbean Sea, doubling Oh
Southern cape Of Florida pressing forwar
to the Northeast, in q line almost parable
to the American coast; touching on tn
Southern borders Of the Grand Banks o
New Foundland, and at some seasons par
tally passing over them; thence, with In
creasing width and diffusion, traversing th'
whole breadth Of tn, Atlantic, with cen
tral direction towards the British Isles -
and finally losing itself by still wider difa
sion in the bay Of Biscay, on our own shores
and upon the long line of the Norwegian
coasts. Its identity in physical charactcr'
is preserved throughout the many thousand
miles ofits continuous aow-the only change
undergone Is that of dcgrse. As It's waters
gradually commingle with those Of the sur
rounding sea, their deep blue tint declines
their high temperature diminishes, the speed
with which they press forward, abates.- -
But taking tho stream in It's total coune-
1t well warrants the vivid description and
the name bestowed upon it by modern au.
thor, of q " river in IN ocean," This cpl.
thet is, in truth, slngularly appropriate to
this vast current so constant and continu.
Gus in Its course and so strangely detach-
ei from the great mass Of ocean waters,
which, while seemingly cleft asunder to give
path to Its FIRST impulse, are yet ever press.
ing upon it, gradually impairing its force
and destroying its individuality. The mar.
imum Of velocity, where tho stream quits
the narrow channel OF Benning which com
presses its egrcss from tho Gulf, is about 4
miles an hour. OF Cape Hatteras, in North
Carolina, where It has gained q breadth Of
IS miles, the velocity is reduced to three
miles. @
On the parallel of the New Foundland
Banks 1t |, further reduced to mile and q
half an hour, and this gredual abatement
of force is continued across the Atlantic
The temperature of tho current undergocs
similar change. The highest observed is
about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Between cape
IIatter,s and New Foundland, though less
ened in amount, the warmth Of the stream
in winter is still 25 or 30 degrees above that
of the water through which 1t flows. Nor
is this heat wholly lost when 1t reaches, and
is spread over, the coasts Of Northern Eu-
rope. The waters, thus constantly flowing
to us from the tropical regions, bring warmth
as well as abundant moisture to our own
islands, and Ireland especially, upon which
they more directly impigne, doubtless de-
rives much Of its popularity OF climate, its
moisture, verdure, and abundant vegetation
from this sourcc,
Were it needful to scsk proof Of the per-
manence Of the great natural phenomenon
of which we are speaking, we might find It
in those curious passages Of ancient geogra-
phers-pomponiaus Mela and ]. Solinus
Polyhistor, for example-which describe the
pecularities of tho Irish soil and climate
eighteen centuries ago, almost rs We should
depict them now. But the influence OF the
Gulf Stream does not stop even here. The
climate it may be said to convey is diffased,
more or less, over the whole Norwegian
coast, the aspects and produce Of which sim
gularly contrast, with those Of the CORES
ponding ATTITUDES in North America, Green.
land and. Siberia. Other causes doubtless
contribute to this effect, but none, we ap.
prehsnd, so largely or increasingly. The
influence Of the temperature Of tho Gulf
Stream upon animal life 10 the ocean is very
curious. The whale so sedulously shuns its
warm waters as almost to indicate their
track by its absence, while yet abundantly
found IN each side oft.
The physical reasons are doubtless the
same which prevent this great marine man.
mar from ever crossing the equator from one
hemisphere to the other-a fact now well
asccrtaincd. Tho various species Of fish
which are firm and of excellent favor In the
colder belt Of the sea upon tho American
coast lose all their good qualities when taker
cut Of the Gulf Stream running closely par
allel to it. On the other hand, the NOR,
delicate marine productions, whether ami
nal or vegetable, which multiply and pros
per by warmth, are redundant in the Gul
Stream, even after II has quilted tho tropica
regions, whence its heat is derived. Th,
food Is thus matured for the whale field o
tho Azores, while this huge denizeu Of tn
seas aourishes in colder waters amid th
abundance so provided. ~.
| EHinbur1 Pr,,is,s