L'Histoire Physique de la Mer. Part III: On the Motions of Seawater

Abstract

Seawater movements are of three kinds: currents, waves, and tides. Observations were made five times a day for three and one-quarter months in the Strait of Cassis. Mariners' reports of a westward current outlining the Mediterranean coast of Europe are shown to be in error. Deep currents are seen, but even surface currents do not respond predictably to the wind. Wave height is proportional to wind stress. The suggestion of Robert Boyle that surface wave amplitude cannot exceed six feet is roughly correct. Higher waves were occasionally observed either where waves feel the ground or where different wave trains converge. The ebb and flow of the tide was unobservable at the location selected. Little about the motions of seawater can be established until some prince supports simultaneous observations at an ensemble of locations.