The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-10
SCIENCE FOR
STUDENTS
W. N. Armstrong Talks
On the Gulf
Stream.

w. n. Armstrong made a brief ad-
dress, yesterday morning. to the stu
dents OF Oahu College, on the subject
of the Gulf Stream, and the wind cur
rents of the Atlantic Ocean. He stated
that modern scientists now generally
refused TO believe that it was the
warmth of the Gulf Stream which
raised the temperature of Ireland, Eng
land and Europe, but that this warmth
was entirely due to the vast aerial cir
culation of air, which took up the
moisture and heat of the equatorial re-
gions and carried them in an immense
anti-cyclone across the Atlantic to the
European coast. The present conditions
/ of things would exist, if there were no
Gulf Stream. The heat of the Gulf
Stream was insignificant in comparison
with that taken up by immense air cur
rents, covering a vast area of the At
lantfc. The Gulf Stream really disap-
peared after it had reached the coast
| of Newfoundland The story about its
! effects was a myth, which the scientists
We're now laughing at. At times, this
vast dIllI-tyClOIl6 VI CiICQIdi movement
of winds covering the middle and south
ern Atlantic moved westward over
portion of the eastern States, and mod
| flied their temperature in winter by
the warm moisture they carried up from
! the equator, when it was pushed away
! entirely, then the cold cyclone weather
| from the lakes produced freezing
weather 1t has been believed also that
| Il To ont
/ across the Pacific, trended along the
| shores of Alaska flowed past the coast
| of California, and then, moving south
westwardly reached these Islands. 1t
was believed that this warm ocean cur
rent gave to the Pacific Coast its warm
and genial climate and even modified
the climate of Hawaii. But now, since
the vast aerial circulation is better
| understood, it is believed that there is
also a vast anti-cyclone in the Pacific,
! infinitely more powerful than the Jap
anese stream in heat and moisture car
/ rying power which sweeps in a vast
| circle from the coast of Japan, over to
the American coast, and creates the
| mild climate of California. AS this
| great sweep turns towards the west,
from the Pacific coast, it takes in these
ISLANDS,, ana 1lOQ1IleS the temperature
above them. 1t then sweeps on toward
the equator and completes circle. The
Japanese junk which was found on
Maui, the mast of the U. S. sloop-of-
war Levant found on the northern
extremity of Hawaii, were landed
not so much by an ocean cur
rent. moving of itself, as by the winds
of the great anti-cyclone which moved
in this direction, and made local cur
rent.
The errors of the early scientists arose
from their ignorance of the part which
the winds played in changing the at
mosphere of the earth.
Old DR.. Franklin, while crossing the
Atlantic, at the beginning of the Revo-
lutionary war, discovered the value OF
current of the Gulf Stream, in the nav
igation of vessels, in shortening voy-
ages. But he would not publish this
information until the close of the war
for he did not wish the British fleets tc
take advantage of this knowledge, while
they We're taking troops and supplies
to America for the purpose of conquer
ing the colonists.