The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1891-10-29
METEOROLOGICAL RECORDS FOR The
NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN.

Bulletin for systematic Observa-
ton and registration of marine
phenomena in the Northern Pacific,
az has already been accomplished
for the North Atlantic, which has
been mapped out On q series OF
small squares on a Mercator's chart
and filed in with details compiled
from innumerable observations for
every month in the year, whereby
it has been possible to trace the
limit of fogs and the limit of ice
bergs, the probable course and
duration of storms, and by means
OF the submarine telegraph trans
hitting the reports Of recent ar
rivals, it can notify vessels about
to cross the Atlantic of what had
lately occurred at sea, of wrecks,
of gales which might reach them,
of derelicts in their track, and q
great deal of information tending to
forewarn ships of dangers they
might, by use of such knowledge,
avoid.
There are already weather SER
vice stations at Hongkong and
Toxic, where the weather of that
part of the Chinese and Japanese
coasts are noted. If there were
now a cable across the Pacific, the
observations ut these points could
be utilized, and ships about to cross
between San Francisco, Vancouver
or Honolulu notified az to recent
barometric observations, the period
and direction Of typhoons and other
atmospheric disturbances, We
should then know when a storm
started from the Asiatic coast"
Lieutenant Finley considers the
Aleutian Islands as about the
northern, and the Hawaiian Islands
as about the southern, limit of the
storm region. Though there are
no icebergs to fear in the North
Pacific, yet there are dense and
dangerous fogs on the coast from
San Francisco northwards, and
these fogs enshroud every head
land on the coast, and penetrate all
the way up the Straits of de Fuca,
Puget Sound and the Gulf of
Georgia.
The vast mass of observations
used in constructing the " checker
board" charts, were acquired
simply by the Government sup
plying to any captain who
would undertake to keep the
log or register provided, q set
of suitable instruments, a good
barometer, wet and dry bulb Their
mometers, sea-water thermometer,
to be registered three times a day,
direction and force of wind and
currents, proportion and classifi-
cation of clouds, etc.
These registers are transmitted
to the Weather Department as OPP
portunity may offer.
There are already three great
steamship lines crosslng the North
Pacific, viz: From Vancouver to
Japan and China; from San Fran
cisco to the same ports, calling at
Honolulu or not; and from San
Francisco to Australasia, calling
at Honolulu and Samoa, besides
eoasting lines from de Fuca to
Panama.
Every one of these ships is COM
manded by captain certainly able
and probably willing to keep this
register. The cooperation of the
sailing ships as well, between Homo
luln and the Coast or Newcastle,
N. S. W., or Hongkong, or from
Cape Horn, would be of value, and
we hope with Lieut.. Finley that it
may soon be called for, and by the
help of the telegraph utilized to
tho utmost.
Lieut.. Maury, then of the United
States navy, says of his Physical
Geography, that he was employed
with the assistance of large corps
of officers, from the summer of 1912
to the spring of 1861, Gin collecting
from all parts of the ocean, and
collating for the benefit of naviga-
ton, observations concerning the
winds and currents of the sea-" and
that the number of such eight-hour
observations used for his chart of
the world in that publication was
1855, 1853.
Mourrfo obonF, --oa P..al