St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1893-05-06
THE WATER OFF LABRADOR.
Curiously Disposed in Layers Of Diff
ferent Temperatures.

|
The Dominion Department of Fisher
les has received a report from Dir. John
Nelson, Superintendent of Fisheries,
giving the result of scientific study of
fish life together with the physics of the
sea, along the Labrador coast.
The first thing which attracted Mr..
Nelson's attention was the very low
ranges of the temperature of the waters
along the Labrador coast, which do not
, exceed ISL degrees ON the surface, even
in the warmest days of summer. The
| arctic current seems to throw its cold
waters with full force against the shores,
as well as to great distance out to sea,
in deeper regions along the bottom.
Another singular fact was that in sew
| eral places along the coast there were
| found to be colder and warmer layers OF
| water of various extent, between the up
| per and lower strata of the sea. For
instance, in one case the temperature at
the bottom, in ninety futhoms, was found
to be at the low point of 224 degrees,
but it rose gradually to 81. degrees, and
in sixty fathons' depth a layer of ice
! cold water was struck having tempera-
ture of 3O.5 degrees, and this extended
to thirty fathoms from the surface, where
the water again attained the temperature
of 81 degrees, and gradually became
warmer as the surface was approached.
Thus there are alternate layers of warm
and cold water; ten fathoms from the
bottom the water is warm enough for
Goldfish to live in, while below it is ten
fathom deep layer, and above is sixty
ive-fathom deep layer containing ice
cold water in which Goldfish would per-
ish after time, and this upper layer is
even colder than the one close to the
bottom.
1t is puzzling question when one asks
whence come these alternate layers of
temperature and ice-cold water Mr..
Nelson thinks the cold layer is &C
counted for by the action of the ice and
the arctic current, the potent elements
which there control the climatic condi-
ton of the waters. The origin of the
warm layers is much more difficult to
explain. Are these warm springs of
water coming up from the bottom2 Or,
contrary to received beliefs, does the
Gulf Stream throw out q northern
branch? Or does warm current come
down from the north? Or, lastly, do
waters at the bottom, where Goldfish re-
sort, get heated by fresh waters of rivers
which have been warmed by the sun and
have been poured into the sea-
Another interesting fact is that Goldfish
are found to the extreme north of Labra-
dor, on a coast which is surrounded BY
heavy ice almost all the year round, and
where it might have been thought that
no fish could exist unless some submarine
power is at work to raise the temperature
of the waters. Newfoundland fishermen
are plying their trade further and further
north every year, and the higher the
latitude reached the more abundant they
find the fish. More than in any other
region, the resort and movements Of
cod, herring, and caplin are determined
by the meteorological condition of the
waters.
Hence it follows that knowledge of
the climatic condition of the waters is of
great Importance to the fishermen who
resort to these waters. Mr.. Nelson is of
opinion that large numbers of industrious
and skiilful fishermen often loose their
whole summers voyage and waste their
time by remaining in localities where
they would net think of attempting TO fish
ifthey were provided with deep-sea Their
mometers aud understood how to use
them. These instruments would at once
indicate when the condition of the
waters was unfavorable for fishing, the
temperature being such that no fish
would resort to them, and fishermen
would thus be warned to move to more
favorable localities. The use of this in
strument, however, is unknown among
the fishermen.