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THE MARINE RECORD. WATER TEMPERATURES OF THE GREAT LAKES. BY NORMAN B. CONGER, LOCAL, FORECAST OFFICIAL AND MARINE AGENT. The study of the distribution of fog on the Great Lakes, - which has now been carried on for upward of two seasons, shows among other things the importance of a knowledge of the temperature of the surface water. In 1892, 1893, and 1894 the Weather Bureau collected observations of water temperatures made by masters of vessels plying between Jake ports, and in the last named year the writer was one of a small party that visited Lake Superior and made many surface observations and also a number of observations at depths of 10, 20, and roo feet. A brief statement of the re- sults of these observations is here given. Lake Superior.—The lake closes to navigation with the closing of the St. Mary’s canal about December 1, but ice rarely forms in the open lake before the beginning of Janu- ary. Insomeof the harbors it does not form much before ‘February 1. Ice on the open lake may form toa thickness of from 1 to 4 feet; it is frequently piled up, however, toa much greater depth. The ice in the open lake breaks upin April and is drifted about by the winds until it finally dis- appears. The water temperatures in May in shallow bays average about 40°, being slightly warmer at the western end of the lakes than along the shore from Marquette eastward. In the middle of the month the average temperature of the ‘water over the great body of the lake is about 37°, being slightly lower in a few localities. In June the temperature of the surface water along shore, where the depth is not great, averages from 48° to 54°, being, as before stated, warmest at the western end of the lake. The temperature is lower toward the deeper parts of the lake, reaching a min- imum of 37° in midlake, but the area of 37° is less than dur- ing the preceding month. In July the temperature of the surface water in midlake has risen to 40°, while shore tem- peratures have risen to 60° and over in some of the shallower bays. ‘The difference between the temperature of the water in midlake and along shore is greatest in July and August, _viz., 20° and upward. In August the area over which water temperatures of 40° may be found is less than for July and can be found only in the center of the lake. The influence in the general warming up of the waters. Large areas show an increase in temperature from the month preceding, of about 10°. The maximum temperature of the water in the great body of the lake occurs in September, about a month after the highest air temperature. It is to be noticed, how- _ ever, that the temperature of the water along shore has be- gun to fall, the maximum of the year being registered in August. During October the temperature of the water falls from 5° to 10° over the great body of the lake. Shore tem- peratures range from 45° to 50°, decreasing from those amounts to about 40° in deep water. In November the tem- - perature of the water around the shore and in deep bays is about 40°, diminishing to 37° in midlake. We have thus seen that the surface temperature of the water along shore and in the larger bays, increases from 32° -in winter to about 60° in August, a total range of 28°. In midlake the increase is very much less, from 32° to 40° or 45°, certainly not more than half of what it is for shore wa- ters. _ Lake Michigan.—The observations for the remaining lakes _ are not sufficiently numerous to discuss the months in de- - tail; our remarks will apply to July only. The coldest por- ‘tion of Lake Michigan is found in the center of the northern two-thirds where the mean temperature for July is 55° or less, but above 50°. Surrounding this area of relatively cool -water isa region of warmer water, 60°, broken only in the northwest, where the temperature of the water is about 55°. The temperature of the northeastern part of the lake is be- tween 60° and 65°. The warmest part of the lake, as might be expected, is around the southern end, when mean tempera- tures above 65° may be found. Masters of vessels occasionally report low water tempera- tures in summer off the Michigan coast, in the vicinity of Grand Haven and Muskegon. Additional observations are required before we are justified in assigning an abnormally cold area to this locality. Lake Huron.—The observations on this lake are naturally confined to the west shore. The temperature of the water in July is about 65° from near Thunder Bay Island south- - ward to near Port Huron. Colder water may be found in bands extending southeastward from the east and west ends of Drummond Island. The differences between the water temperatures along shore and some distance out in the lake \ of the warmer air temperatures of June and July is now felt . are not so great asin the case of Lake Superior, nor are the differences between water and air temperatures so well marked. In July at Mackinaw the average temperature of water at the surface in a depth of about 11 feet was 63°; the average temperature at the bottom was 62°, while for the same time the average temperature of the ait was 69° (avet- age of four years). In the Detroit river the average surface tetiipefature for July in water 24 feet deep, was 69.7°; at the bottoiti 69.6°, while the air temperature for the satiie time was 77.7°, a dif- ference of 8°. Probably the difference between water and air temperatures over Lakes Michigan and Huron is not more than 7°. Lake Erie.—The temperature of the water in this lake ap- proaches more closely to the temperature of the air than is the case on any other lake. Generally the mean water tem- peratures range between 70° and 75°. < ——$—_—— __@O eon ASTRONOMICAL NOTES, Astronomical data for October, 1899, furnished to the MARINE RECORD by the Washburn observatory : All the bright planets, Mercury, Venus Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are at present gathered together in the same quarter of the heavens. They may all be seen in the south- western sky in the early evening, under good conditions of the atmosphere; but Saturn is the only one far enough from the sun to be conspicuous during the present month. On October 11, Mars may be seen close by Jupiter, a little north of the latter; on October 24, Mercury will be similarly situa- ted, and on October 29, Venus will pass by Jupiter on the south, still nearer than the previous planets. The times of sunrise and sunset at Milwaukee for the month are as follows: SUNRISE. SUNSET. OCR ra ee ee oars ai nas coal ares 5:49 5:34 HOST octane ote Pare a SI ccs horas perma ae 6:00 5:16 EE POD a eso rene nae ni eiuas Deepa nc wren EE See 6:12 4:59 POSSE Se eect toe Sesieis See Waa te ae te 6:25 4:45 The times of the moon’s phases are: ING WelOOMe pe peek eos aes oe eee Oct. 4, I:14 p. m. First'Ouantetcn sian cuca nite stan e ce (72. 12°TO! ams Bill mi OO Te ao te ek ae cra ne ** 78, 4:05 p. m. Mird:O rartern ciate tester, steuuaeratvere “ 26, 3:40 a. m. The principal fixed stars visible during the month are: In the evening, to the. west, Vega; Altair, near the meridian; the bright stars of the square of Pegasus to the east; Alde- baran, the Pleiades, Capella, and the bright stars of the con- stellations, Cassiopeia and Andromeda. oo or EASTERN FREIGHTS. The course of our freight market, as developed in the week now under review, presents no material change. A few charters have been made of large grain tonnage for prompt shipment, but the inquiry is light for vessels to load before the middle of October. Some demand has developed for steamers for Spring loading, especially for Denmark, and the demand does not appear satisfied by charters reported at foot. The situation in respect to timber and cotton remains unchanged; charterers for the latter commodity are appar- ently unwilling to take further tonnage until cotton begins moving more freely. In time charters the principal item of interest is a further fixture for the Pacific trade, at a figure considerably in excess of what would be obtainable for busi- ness from this coast. There are absolutely no new developments in the market for sail tonnage to influence rates in any direction. Quota- tions generally, especially for long voyage business, still favor the vessel. Oe a LIQUID FUEL. The output of liquid fuel, or masut, and of petroleum by-products has now become the mainstay of the petroleum industry in Russia. The annual quantity of masut con- sumed amounts to no less than 500,000,000 poods, which, with the extension of the railways, is expected to further increase to a large extent. Not only in the firing of loco- motive boilers liquid fuel is playing an important part, but also in connection with the raising of steam in marine boilers, As a preliminary all the war vessels belonging to the Baltic fleet are now fired with liquid fuel, and it is be- lieved the whole of the Russian Imperial Navy will eventu- ally be converted to the system, according toa gradual pro- cessof transformation. The industry is at present hampered through lack of a sufficient number of tank steamers, ‘said: ‘There appears to be aii impression amongst soihe O€roBER 5, 18998 THE STEAM TURBINE. in the cotitse of his paper on the ‘Steam Turbine Sys- tem,” read before the British Association meeting at Dover on the rgth, the Hon. C. A. Parsons, F. R. S:, said that for fast passenget vessels, and espetially for cross-channel serv- ice, the ttirbitie system of propulsion offers great and im- pottant advaiitages over the ordinary screw or paddle éngines. In the first place, the steam consumption of the ~ turbine engines is no more—perhaps somewhat less—than the best ordinary triple compound engines. Then the weight of engines, shafting and propellers is under one-half that of ordinary paddle engines of the same power, so that there is much less weight to be propelled ; besides this, the hull itself may be of lighter structure than is admissable with ordinary engines owing to the absence of racking stresses from the machinery. With turbine engines no lubricant enters the steam part, so that express water-tube boilers of the smaller tube type may be maintained in satis- factory working condition for long periods. But, perhaps, the most important considerations are the increased comfort to passengers, owing to the absence of vibration and a re- markable smoothness of motion analogous to that of a sail- ing vessel, also the greater depth at which the propellers are placed bélow the surface of the water, reducing the liability to racing of the engines, which enables the speed of the — ship to be maintained in heavy weather in a way that is” totally impossible in the case of ordinary screw or paddle — vessels, The particulars of the proposed 30-knot turbine boats are as follows: Length, 275 feet; beam, 30 feet; depth (molded), 13 feet rinch to main deck; 21 feet to” awning deck ; draught 9 feet 3 inches (about); displace- ment, 1,000 tons (about) ; speed, 30 knots; i. h. p., 18,000, It is estimated from the results so far attained with the Tur- binia and the torpedo-boat destroyer that the coal consump- tion at the full speed of 30 knots will not exceed 2 pounds peri. h. p., a result superior to that obtainable with triple- expansion engines. Designs have also been prepared for other vessels of larger dimensions, including an express channel steamer of 1,600 tons displacement, to feet 9 inches (about) draught, 50,000 i. h. p., and a speed of 4o knots. A model of a proposed Atlantic liner was also shown, the dimensions being: Length, 600 feet; breadth, 63 feet ; depth, 42 feet ; displacement, 18,000 tons. The i. h, p. is 38,000 and her speed 26 knots. In coticlitsion the speaker engineers that steam ttirbine machinery deteriorates. It may be stated, however, that its endurance appears to be beyond question. On many occasions engines have been run continuously for three weeks, and after some years of work there is found to be practically no erosion by the steam on the blades. In conclusion, it would seem that the very great and unquestionable advantages to be derived from the adoption of the steam turbine system of propul- sion for all fast passenger and cross-channel vessels will soon lead to the commencement of its general application, both in this and other countries, to this service.’’ 8D? OCTOBER LAKE STORMS. BY ALFRED J. HENRY, CHIEF OF DIVISION. There is an increase both in the number and violence of | lake storms in October, as compared with September. The — squall winds and thunderstorms of the warm season gradu- ally cease, being replaced by a different class of storms, some of which sweep over large areas and develop very — great violence. October storms are generally preceded in the lake region by higher temperature, increasing cloudi- ness, and moderately high winds from some easterly or southerly quarter, which blow steadily as compared with | the squall winds of summer. 2S The greater number of October storms pass over the northern or Superior route. The number that move north- easterly from the central valleys, however, is greater than during the preceding month and storms from this quarter are more apt to be accompanied by high winds and gales than those which pass over the Superior route. Notice of the approach and force of storms is given by a system of signals. In addition to the display of signal flags a telegram is sent daily to each displayman, advising him of the weather conditions, and in the ing case of threatenin weather, of the location and : Leda alee expected movement of the Masters of vessels flying the America i : n flag, when in port where there is no Weather Bureau office or Slants station can obtain information of the expected weather conditions a4 MeN ge to the Weather Bureau Office in Chicago or