On variations in the current at the Seven Stones Light Vessel
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2009
Extract
Measurements of current at the Seven Stones Light Vessel, 50° 03·5' N. lat., 6° 05·1' W. long. (for position, see Cooper, 1960b, fig. 1) were first made with the Carruthers Drift Indicator between 17 August and 15 September 1933 (Carruthers, 1934). The much longer series with the Vertical Log between July 1939 and April 1941 showed average travel of the residual cur-rent at a rate of 2·5 miles per day towards east-south-east (110° true) (Carruthers, Lawford & Veley, 1951). It was shown clearly that there was a strong causal connexion between the direction and strength of the wind and direction and strength of current, but that there were evidently other factors concerned as well. These current measurements were not easy to reconcile with deductions from the observed distributions of temperature and salinity in the area (Matthews, 1914; Harvey, 1925, 1929; Cooper, 19606). A rational explanation could be achieved if it is assumed that the passage of water from the English Channel to the Bristol Channel occurs intermittently and is confined to a narrow current close into Lands End. This ‘corner current’ rarely extends as far west as the Seven Stones Light Vessel.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , October 1960 , pp. 659 - 665
- Copyright
- Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1960
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