The ‘Cold Wall. ’
"The lateral limits of the stream are more easily defined , especially in the northern sections, where the change is so sudden from the warm water of the Gulf to the cold stream inside of it towards the shore, that the cold stream was likened, by Lieut. Geo. M. Bache, to a ‘cold wall ’ confining the warm water....
"In the cold water inshore from the Gulf Stream, Acting Master Jones, of Lieut. Maffitt’s party, found a current setting southward, as also in the cold band outside of the axis. These results, if shown to be permanent, will be in the highest degree important. As it is, the existence of them at any time shows the cause of many anomalies noticed by navigators in relation to the currents of the Gulf Stream....” In “On the distribution of temperature in and near the Gulf Stream, off the coast of the United States, from observations made in the Coast Survey.” (1854) by A. D. Bache, Superintendent. Published in Report of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey for 1854 . Appendix No. 47, pp. 156-161. A full discussion of this finding is also included on pp. 59-62.
1888 - Systematic Work and Ocean Discovery by the Coast Survey
"Undoubtedly, the early observations made upon the temperature of the ocean were defective, owing to the somewhat imperfect instruments at the disposal of the early explorers. Yet they determined the general position of the cold and warm currents of the ocean along our shores. The more systematic work of the officers of the Coast Survey first proved the existence of vast bodies of water, of considerable thickness, and of very different temperatures at corresponding depths, moving in opposite directions. It is to the Coast Survey that we owe the demonstration of the fact that the waters of the polar regions pour into the tropics along the bottom, just as the warmer equatorial waters flow across the temperate zones near the surface, and make their influence felt in the polar regions.” In Three Cruises of the Blake (188
by A. Agassiz. Volume I, p. 244.
1888 - The Grandeur of the Gulf Stream
"Man stands with bowed head in the presence of nature’s visible grandeurs, such as towering mountains, precipices, or icebergs, forests of immense trees, grand rivers, or waterfalls. He realizes the force of waves that can sweep away light-houses or toss an ocean steamer about like a cork. In a vessel floating on the Gulf Stream one sees nothing of the current and knows nothing but what experience tells him; but to be anchored in its depths far out of the sight of land, and to see the mighty torrent rushing past at a speed of miles per hour, day after day and day after day, one begins to think that all the wonders of the earth combined can not equal this one river in the ocean.” In The Gulf Stream (1891) by J. E. Pillsbury, as quoted in Appendix 10 of "Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for 1890", pp. 461-620.
1932 - El Nino Before Everyone Knew About El Nino
"This Humboldt Current, like the Gulf Stream, has a profound effect on the climate of the coasts it bathes. A few years ago it seemed to “disappear,” while Beebe was cruising in this very region. At least he did not find it where he expected. This phenomenon changed the climate of the coast of Peru in a remarkable way. Regions that had been without rain for centuries received such deluges that marking on ancient “adobe” buildings were obliterated. It was not our luck to stumble upon such an upset in the circulation of the Pacific. It is a great pity that such an interesting discovery as the Arcturus made was not followed up by careful oceanographic studies; for another opportunity may never be offered.” In The Last Cruise of the Carnegie (1932) by J. H. Paul. Published by The Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore. p. 155.
1932 - The Need for Repeat and Continuous Observations
"The oceanographic station of September 23 was exceedingly interesting. We had occupied a station within fifteen miles of this spot only five days before, but changes had occurred in that short time. The temperature at the 200-meter depth had dropped about 6 degrees Fahrenheit, and the salinity had followed suit. The current had trebled during the same time interval. We realized as never before how important it is to make repeated observations in the same spot, preferably throughout the year, if we want a complete picture of conditions in the sea.” In The Last Cruise of the Carnegie (1932) by J. H. Paul. Published by The Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore. p. 123.
1951 - The Oneness of the Ocean
"There is, then, no water that is wholly of the Pacific, or wholly of the Atlantic, or of the Indian or the Antarctic. The surf that we find exhilarating at Virginia Beach or at La Jolla today may have lapped at the base of antarctic icebergs or sparkled in the Mediterranean sun, years ago, before it moved through dark and unseen waterways to the place we find it now. It is by the deep, hidden currents that the oceans are made one.” In The Sea Around Us (1951) by R. Carson. Published by Oxford University Press, New York. p. 150.
1951 - The Ocean as Climate Regulator
"For the globe as a whole, the ocean is the great regulator, the great stabilizer of temperature. It has been described as ‘a savings bank for solar energy, receiving deposits in seasons of excessive insolation and paying them back in seasons of want.’ Without the ocean, our world would be visited by an unthinkably harsh extremes of temperature...