THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. PART I: OCEANOGRAPHY, VOL. IV, NO. 2.

• Other Authors: ARMY AIR FORCES WASHINGTON D C DIRECTORATE OF WEATHER
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1942
• Subjects: (*ENGLISH CHANNEL; OCEANOGRAPHY); (*OCEANOGRAPHY; ENGLISH CHANNEL); OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA; SURFACE TEMPERATURE; OCEAN CURRENTS; MARINE METEOROLOGY; TIDES; ATLANTIC OCEAN; SALINITY; WIND; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0622259; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0622259

The English Channel, which is called La Manche by the French, lies between the south coast of England and the north coast of France. Its long axis extends about 300 miles from east-northeast to west-southwest. It is located between 49 deg and 51 deg N. and 1 deg 30' E. and 5 deg W. The Channel may be likened in shape to a funnel, with its open western end presented to the Atlantic Ocean and its narrow eastern spout opening into the North Sea. It is the chief connection between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and its principal oceanographic characteristics are derived from its position between these bodies of water. The yearly means of both the surface temperature and salinity show a gradient from the relatively high values of the North Atlantic to the lower ones of the North Sea. The movements of both the Atlantic and North Sea water, as well as the action of the tide, which produces forces which act directly upon the Channel water, bring about the complex current and tidal system. These complex and often swift currents, when opposed by strong winds, produce the characteristic choppy seas of the Channel. Includes information compiled from 3 French sources and 1 German source.