Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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The Thermometer On The Bank, And Near The Surface, Was From
12.5 To 13.3 Degrees Centigrades, While In Deep Water It Constantly
Marked 15 Or 15.3 Degrees, The Air Being At 12.8 Degrees.
The
celebrated Franklin and Mr. Jonathan Williams* (* Author of a work
entitled "Thermometrical Navigation," published at Philadelphia.)
were the
First to invite the attention of naturalists to the
phenomena of the temperature of the Atlantic over shoals, and in
that zone of tepid and flowing waters which runs from the gulf of
Mexico to the banks of Newfoundland and the northern coasts of
Europe. The observation, that the proximity of a sand-bank is
indicated by a rapid descent of the temperature of the sea at its
surface, is not only interesting to the naturalist, but may become
also very important for the safety of navigators. The use of the
thermometer ought certainly not to lead us to neglect the use of
the lead; but experiments sufficiently prove, that variations of
temperature, sensible to the most imperfect instruments, indicate
danger long before the vessel reaches the shoals. In such cases,
the frigidity of the water may induce the pilot to heave the lead
in places where he thought himself in the most perfect safety. The
waters which cover the shoals owe in a great measure the diminution
of their temperature to their mixture with the lower strata of
water, which rise towards the surface on the edge of the banks.
The moment of leaving Europe for the first time is attended with a
solemn feeling.
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