The times., 1901-03-17
TRACING OCEAN CURRENTS
Interesting Work of the Naval Hy-
geographic Office.
Bottles Containing Printed Instruc-
tions to the Finder Thrown over
board by Vessels at Sea--Informa-
ton obtnIued ny Simple Methods.


tions to the Finder Thrown over
board by Vessels at Sea--Informa-
tion Obtained ny Simple Methods.
When party of New York men cast
a bottle containing their names and ad-
dresses on a slip OF paper into the ocean
from the deck of the schooner Governor
Ames. off Nantucket Shoals, one autumn
day in 1893 none of them imagined that
the document was to become incorpor-
ated in the official records of the Naval
photographic Office. Such, however, was
it's ultimate fate, and today the paper is
known as No. l6 in the bottle paper
mans collection of ocean waits.
The bottle paper man of the Hydro
graphic Office of the Navy Department IS
an interesting individual In his office
In the basement oi the State, War, and
Navy building he sits and traces out the
mysterious currents of the ocean across
charts of the Atlantic, from Europe to
America, from Africa to Yucatan. He
does not gain his knowledge of the di-
rection and velocity of these currents by
the use of intrinsic scientific instruments
and figures and tables based upon the
researches Of others. His sole source of
information which Is promulgated pc
riodically to pilots aud sailors and which
is invaluable in navigation, is obtained
from bottles-plain, ordinary bottles
thrown overheard from ships at sea.
These bottles drifted, some of them, by
currents in paths unknown to ships, are
cast ashore and find their way to the
bottle paper" man, and once in while
a new line is traced across his charts
indicating 4 hitherto unknown current.
H.
means of bottles was first begun in I843
by Capt A. 2. Becher, r. N, under the
direction of the British Admiralty, and
was taken up by this Government about
twelve years ago. The results have been
exceedingly gratifying to those engaged
in the work. and have given new in
sight into the movements of the ocean.
To all going vessels requesting
them, the photographic Office gives
number Of printed slips to be sealed in
bottles and thrown overheard in various
attitudes These slips are technically
known as bottle papers On them in
seven languages English. French. Ger
man Dutch. Italian, Spanish, and Portu-
guese-are printed Instructions to the
person who throws the bottle overheard
and 20 the finder. There is space for the
name of the vessel from which the bottle
is cast, the date. and the latitude AMI
longitude where the bottle is set adrift.
Another space is provided for the name
of the finder. the date and locality where
the bottle comes ashore.
The request is made that the finder will
send the paper TO any United States Con-
sui or forward it direct to the Hydro
graphic Office at Washington. These slips
are filed out by the captains of the yes
sells, who take great interest In the work,
placed In bottles, which are carefully seal
I'd with parafFn or tar and thrown over
board The bottles come ashore and the
contents finally reach the bottle man. who
traces on his chart their route and esH-
mates their velocity. The rate Of speed
al which bottles travel is somewhat diff
cult to arrive at, as no allowance is made
for the time they may lie on the beach
undiscovered.
In the region Of the great Saragossa Sea.
there IS perpetuaily very high baromet-
ric pressure This influences the winds
and they, In turn, the currents of the
ocean. In the Northern Hemisphere, and
north of the Saragossa Sea. there is a
right-hand eddy. and in the Southern
Hemisphere ieft-hand eddy. These cor
respond with the prevailing winds around
the area of high pressure. The study of
the motion of the waters by means of
nifiCant results The nnaSsing Of the
waters in the West Indies, where bottles,
started off the coast of Portugal, unite
with those from the South Atlantic fur
nsh to the observer the most conclusive
proof Of the extraordinary pressure which
prevails there. and sets in motion the
Gulf Stream. II has been shown that bot
ties immersed in weak currents move di-
rectly contrary to the wind. and where
wind and current do not agree, the drec-
ton of the water is always taken by
the bottle.
The drift per day of the bottles varies
widely. They have been known to come
from the coast of Africa to the shores of
Nucatan at an average speed of l2.4 miles
per day. and there are exceptional cases
on record where bottles have crossed over
thirty miles per day. In 1894 a bottle was
set adrift off the Grand Banks and trav-
elcd at the rate Of fifty miles per day until
picked up five DAYS later
To the north of the Azores the eastern
drift of the right-haud eddy mentioned
before spreads ont like a fan, its north
eastern extension reaching the shores Cf
Norway, ana the LoffOden Islands and it's
southeastern the shores of France Spain,
and Portugal. The various destinations
at aimed by bottles cast adrift in this re-
siol shows the uncertainty Of the move
ments OF the surface currents. Five bot
ties were all thrown overheard in the
summer season within an area OF one
hundred miles Square one of the bottles
two on the west coast Of ireland, one on
the coast Of France and finally one on the
coast of Spain. The courses of four bot
ties reported by the Hydrograp phic Office
are especially well marked examples OF
the widely diverging drifts OF the ocean.
The first two Tere thrown overheard
within nifty miles of each other. one
landed on Andres Island ". J., and the
other on the shores of Fl terre. France.
The second pair were lik, te cast adrift
within q few miles of other. and
one went ashore on AbaC~ sland, W. l.,
while the other reached its destination at
Arcachon, France
The Prince of Monaco does not devote
all his time 10 the gay life to be found
in his realm. but is an ardent student Of
bottle paper work. Every year he
sends his yacht. the Princess Alice, to
embark in some scientific investigation.
For several years his studies have been
confined to the drift of floating bottles.
He invented a floating metallic bottle.
which carries a small signal. making II
readily diScernible in he water. He dis
tTibuted over 500 of these bottles within
600 hundred miles, between NeWtound-
land and Azores but only small per
centage Of them was ever found one OF
them was recovered after the lapse Of
seven years within a Few miles of the
spot whore another landed after few
months immersion in the water The
long lost bottle Travelled 6oOo miles at the
rate of u miles per day.
As might be supposed. the HYdrOgraph-
ic once receives bottle papers from all
parts Of the globe. and from ali sorts
and conditions of men. from the tducat-
cd EHatishman 10 tho South Sea Islander.
Almost without exception me general I'M
preston prevails with the finders Of the
bottle that a reward of some sort is at
tachCd TO the discovery. Many humorous
letters are received with the papers. Not
long since man wrote Il piteoHS appeal
for pair Of new boots to itN!aC" the
old ones ruined in obtaining bottle As
the Government does not appropriate