The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1880-09-02
AN OCEAN RIVER.


Discovery of n Third E4uatorial Currenl
I'm the P.cinc.
The London Nautical Gazette con-
tanned recently an interesting announce
ment and detailed account of newly
discovered current in the equatorial Pa
cifc. The discoverer and explorer of
this remarkable oceanic movement is
Capt John McKirdy, of the steamship
Peruvia, running between Callao, Homo
lulu, and Hong Kong, who has devoted
much study to the circulation of the sea
from the Peruvian coast to Panama, and
thence westward along the equator. 1t
is well-known that approximately parallel
with ''the line" and from the second to
the tenth parallel of north latitude the
Pacific equatorial commencement"
moves eastwardly, contrary to the grand
general movement of all equatorial waters
Along the western coast Of South America
there has been also recognized since
Humboldt's time vast flow of glacial
water from the Antarctic basin, which,
after penetrating to the equator, turns
westwardly, and falls into the general
westerly movement. But now, to the
surprise of photographers, a third and
powerful equatorial current is revealed
by Capt McKirdy's explorations, which
presses with large volume from the
Mexican and Panama coasts first to the
southwark and then to the westward.
The remarkable features of this cur
rent are its shape, force, and color, with
its temperature so distinctly tracea-
BILE far from land that its explorer says:
cts color is deep, deep blue, or deep
btuish-bIack, and cannot be mistaken
(the surrounding waters of the North
Pacific are bright, beautiful blue), and
its waters differ in temperature from that
around it by about two degrees, SO that
you can tell in minute if you are in it
or out of it." AS it flows west of the one
hundredth meridian, west longitude, it
feels the northwestward pressure Of the
great body of Antarctic water known as
Humbolt's current, of "ddrE, dirty
green' hue; and thus the contrasted
stream of "deep blush black" is forced
bodily north of the equator, forming
shrunken horn or distorted letter s re-
versed, the lower end pointing to Panama
and the upper little to the eastward of
the Sandwich Islands. The equatorial
counter-current also aids in causing this
"bend" in its course, but when the pres
sure is removed the current of dark blue
resumes its westerly path, curving gently
round.
The explanation of this "mighty river
running in the Pacific Ocean," as Capt.
McKirdy calls it, is very nationally
pointed out by himself, "There is con-
siderable testimony, he says, I" as to the
existence of a current setting to the south
ward and southeast along the Californian
and Mexican coasts (possibly continue
ton of the Japanese currently. This body
of water gets pent up in the Gulf of Pan
anna. 1t cannot get south on account of
Humboldt's current, and the two streams
change their course to the westward,
running along side by side near the
equator, until they meet the equatorial
counter current, which splits them like
wedge" Undoubtedly, as this able Off
Ger of the mercantile navy suggests, the
the newly discovered 'horn-shaped cur
rent is "a continuation of the Japanese
current" known as the Kuro Siwo, or
"Black Stream of Japan" whose pheno-
mena and movements off the coasts of
Japan and its recurvation across the Pa
cific to the California coast were origin
ally ascertained and charted by Capt
Silas Bent, of London, in Perry's Japan
expedition. The deep-blue color Of the
Euro S1wo near the Japan Islands and
all the way across the North Pacific to
California marks its identity with Capt
Nc Kirdy's "deep blush black" current
as traced westwardly from the Gulf of
Panama to the mid Pacific.
The importance of this discovery is
recognized by the highest authority of
the British Admiralty as rejecting new
and decisive light upon the mysterious
circulation of Pacific waters, and as JUS
tifying a recasting of Western Pacific
charts. It affords long -looked-for key
to the history of the Kuro Siwo-the
Gulf-stream Of the greatest of oceans
as that dark water, after coursing so
many thousand of miles, bends around
the North American coast, and, complet-
ing its grand round, re-enters the main
equatorial stream whence it originates,
near the Asiatic coast. It is quite evil
dent, also, that for all purposes of navi-
cation in the region through which it
moves, SO magnificent "river in the
sea" (within which the Peruvia made the
handsome run of 322 miles day., is
destined to be a great highway of COM
marce