Gloucester County Democrat., 1891-09-03
NUMBER 3


rtNG - rN - A-LT-- lF r-E ENGR
sTEALrHY SEA Puss
Dangerous ocean Currents Along rhs
shore-How They Are Produced ana
How They May Re Avoided-Advios
That surf Hathers should Need.
The many deaths by drowning on the
New jersey coast have caused a great
deal Of discussion. Some attribute the
los of young Brolzaw to the presence of
a -sea puss;" others zav Vt was simply
an ordinary undertow while the con-
servative claim Mat " ra- neither
The majority w people III net know
the difference between 4 tide and j cur
rent, but believing the words to be syn
onymous, use them iudiscriainately. A
tide is the alternate rising and falling Of
the waters caused by the naequal altrac-
ton Of the saa and meon. while cur
rent Is moving ~ mass NJ water
that may or may Hyt ri-r. Int i4az enl w
one direction Currents ara s.amrtineH
produced by strong winds. Dul generals
by difference Of level anh tise cunHgm-
ration of the bottom
The first thing to avoid x the under
tow, which IS always strongest ID water
about waist deep. If the bather would
venture out further or remain nearer the
shore he wopll escape tli, strength Of the
undertow. This disturbance Uf the wateT
is confined to NJ particular locality,
though it i stronger M some places thaa
Id others. owing tp the .tEend of the
shore. 1t AZ caused hv the rushing out
of the water under th- surface after b.
ing thrown up on the leach. anl II at
ways strongest I'D aH angry surf One
may judge Of the strength If the under
tow by the height Of the waves as they
break and the velocity which they i'm
part TO objects along the beach
The explanation Of the, nndertow is
simple. The approaching waves have a
velocity depending upon the strength of
the wind - have the @eeeding ones,
but this IL due to gravity Ana depends
upon the angle " inclination w the
beach. The breakers therefore. with
their greater velocity. run over ths top
Of the waves. while the rareding water
keeps below.
THE DREADED SEA Fuss.
Eddies are simply partial currents
that take an opposite direction 10 the
parent stream. and are produced entirely
by the trend Of the shore. Wherever
there Is 4 recession Of the beach or
pocket, I" as it l. called, there Kill 10
found eddies They are of nItonse-
quencc, however. ann nf little or IVY Hnn-
ger to the bather
we now come tU disturbance yf tas
water, the very name of which causes
panic among bathers Tie sea puss7
has no place in physical geograpsy: IA
fact, 10 scientist has deigiei to notice
this phenomenon Webster does not
even give definition ufft III his mn
abridged dictionary iu TIE Century it
is defined A. .a swirl M thp uHaertow
making small whirlpool en ae surface
Of the water lUcal tAitTarit current
dangerous te hattls Al-l called saa
ponce ald saa purse
How the sea pus- isfuriHrd no scaen-
tist states. but in ail probability IL il due
to the same causes as the whirlpool. to
which it is closely allied When two
currents, with different sets and drifts,
meet at a point in the water, the result
ant Is q motion Of rotation. with diam
eter and velocity depending upon the
resistance with which 1t meets The
whirlpool w sea rH-5 is gisen me-
tion 0f translation which III takes from
the stronger nf the two currents Now
there ~ often slight southesIy current
setting parallel to the shore along the
Jersey and Long island COASTS This
sometimes meets another setting To the
westward and at the union Of the two is
formed the sea pass. which moves
slowly to the southwar,l and eastward.
OCEAN CURRENTS
This westward current may be due to
strong winds, W. 10 storm many miles
out at sea- Far away ta the eastward,
the water ~ piled up and driYen stniI-
ward where 1T il smooth and uHd5s-
turbed. III this way III IN possible thar
the -sea pRss may be formed rn1er
clOudless skies amd im HnrEfileIl water.
Should bather BE- csIn-hr in the swirl.
it IS useless to attempt TO swim against
it. The wiser plan would lA; TO keep his
head above water and swim with it,
gradually nearing the eslso until he
Is ont of its unwelcrnie raiilus Of action.
Professor Maury. Formerly lieuten-
ant i'll the United Stsaics navy. attributes
offshOre currents t0 x difference in the
temperature HUN density of Eea water at
different places
All tlrr proof of the pr-s,i.ra 1 sRb-
marine currents u tho faet ihas ia al
deep sea sounding the line Has never
yet ceased 20 rUu ont even after the lead
has reached the bottom Should it Gs
held fast in the hosst it VIII invariably
part, showing when Two or three miles
Of it are ont that tho underrnrrents are
sweeping against thr blight of il with
what scamen caIl -swiy=ing force
and that I-n irvine however strong. hsEs
yet been ahlr tl Withstand thi-
Admiral Sir Frrnri- BeanGTt, wlsH
iii rrmn4auH rf Ecr uais~tv'- steam
frigats FneirirhStcen in .hH AetlitrT-
raucan. also inalr some important dis
cover.ss ia this direction IA the aFchi-
pelaac he fornd tine caunter currents 50
s5ronv tbat thcy(ofta prevented the
steering Of i.is ship Ia ONE instance
when ;he wasar was vrrg clear he low
.red the lti wiih r-luryri shretlS nf
cunt Y atta ui to grviT rard- Thasa
pointed fly i 1trrnt lirRcIMis All round
thc compass MI Nephew King WI. IN
~ar NprTs LarYrtlpr