Message Bottle Displayed with permission • The American Surveyor • March • Copyright 2007 Cheves Media • www.TheAmericanSurveyor.com hen thinking of past scientific measuring The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension, the instruments developed by the United North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic Bottle States Coast & Geodetic Survey Ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico. It flows (C&GS) over the past two centuries, a around the tip of Florida, and up the eastern coastlines of the message in a bottle probably doesn’t United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic come to mind. For most people, the Ocean. At approximately Latitude 40º North, Longitude 30º allure of placing a message in a bottle and sending it adrift to West, it splits in two; the northern stream crosses to northern an unknown place can only be surpassed by actually finding Europe, and the southern stream recirculates off West Africa one. The message contained inside the bottle usually had one and back to the Gulf of Mexico. Information about the Gulf main purpose – to elicit correspondence from the finder. Stream benefits seagoing vessels and helps to demonstrate When C&GS added the use of drift bottles to its array of how currents influence the climate of the eastern coast of observation techniques in 1846, the main objective was an North America and the western coast of Europe. attempt to determine the route of the ocean currents. The The first C&GS bottles were tossed overboard from a ship success of the experiment after launching the bottles depended known as the Washington on July 27, 1846. The selected loca- upon three main factors – someone finding the bottle, a record tion was off the eastern United States coast in an area known of its location, and the date that it was discovered. The latter to be in the Gulf Stream. After traveling across the Atlantic two would provide C&GS with not only the direction of the Ocean for nearly a year, one bottle was discovered on the ocean current, but also its speed. beach near Kerry, Ireland on June 27, 1847. Two other bottles >> By Jerry Penry, LS Displayed with permission • The American Surveyor • March • Copyright 2007 Cheves Media • www.TheAmericanSurveyor.com A chart of the Gulf Stream by James Poupard, sculp. [Philadelphia, Pa.: American Philosophical Society, 1786?] Appears in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 1786. Includes inset of North Atlantic and text in left margin “Remarks upon the navigation from Newfoundland to New-York, in order to avoid the Gulph Stream on one hand, and on the other the shoals that lie to the southward of Nantucket and of St. George’s Banks,” by B. Franklin. Courtesy Library of Congress from a different group were launched apparently having no knowledge at that through the same area just four days that same year inside the Gulf Stream, time of the Gulf Stream’s true origin in earlier and had not previously seen but closer to shore. Their journeys were the Gulf of Mexico. (See Poupard’s 1786 the bottle. The discovery of this drift less spectacular, arriving at Nag’s Head, map of the Gulf Stream above.) bottle provided information that it had North Carolina, in just a few days. On April 8, 1854, C&GS released traveled about 750 miles, if having taken The existence and approximate drift bottles from the U. S. Steamer a straight course, in the span of 59 days. location of the Gulf Stream had been Walker at Latitude 28º57' North, While this information seems crude by discovered long before C&GS began Longitude 88º15' West, in the Gulf today’s standards, it was valuable to its scientific studies. One of the earliest of Mexico approximately 78 miles C&GS in determining the direction of maps depicting the location of the southeast from the tip of Louisiana. the Gulf Stream and the fact that it did Gulf Stream was the Franklin-Folger Two months later on June 6, 1854, a originate in the Gulf of Mexico. Chart of the Gulf Stream, published in beachcomber found one of these bottles A bottle thrown from the U. S. 1769 by Benjamin Franklin and his on the shore near Daytona, Florida. Schooner Gallitin on October 30, 1854, cousin Timothy Folger. On their map Aside from the location of the discovery, at Latitude 40º26'30", Longitude 73º50' the Gulf Stream began off the eastern the finder of this bottle added valuable West, off the coast of New York was tip of Florida, with Franklin and Folger information that indicated he had been discovered on the beach at Santa Cruz, Displayed with permission • The American Surveyor • March • Copyright 2007 Cheves Media • www.TheAmericanSurveyor.com Graciosa Island, Azores, on June 13, 1855. Another bottle that had been released by the Gallitin that same day at Latitude 40º23' North, Longitude 73º53' West, was discovered on the shore at North Caicos north of Haiti on November 20, 1856. This bottle had almost completely traveled the entire Atlantic Gulf Stream. Because of the low percentage of drift bottles that are actually recovered, they were usually released in large quantities, sometimes numbering into the thousands. This required a great deal of expense and time to purposely conduct such an experiment. Accidental cargo releases from ships, however, have generated valuable information in the past couple of decades. In late May of 1990, the container ship Hansa Carrier encountered a severe storm in the area of Latitude had to continue searching or trade in data through accidental circumstances. 48º North, Longitude 161º West while swap meets for matched pairs. To this day these bathtub toys are traveling between Korea and the United Less than two years later on January continuing to wash up on the shores all States. Twenty-one containers were swept 10, 1992, another container vessel cross- around the earth, including the eastern off the ship by large waves with five of ing the stormy North Pacific between shore of the United States. them containing Nike running shoes. Hong Kong and Tacoma, Washington, The recovery rate for both purposely Four of the shoe containers were known lost a dozen containers at Latitude 44.7º released drift bottles and accidental to have broken open and dispersed more North, Longitude 178º East. At least one cargo releases has proven to be just than 60,000 shoes into the Pacific. The container containing an estimated 29,000 less than 3 percent. These are the items following winter more than 1,300 of these small plastic bathtub toys was ripped that have been found in measurable shoes were reported to have washed open as it hit the water. Ten months later quantities in one particular area around up on the shores of Vancouver Island, an array of blue turtles, yellow ducks, the same date. The remaining items Washington, and Oregon. Unfortunately green frogs, and red beavers began have either been picked up individu- the once-boxed shoes were not tied washing ashore near Sitka, Alaska, ally and not reported, or are still out together in pairs, so lucky beachcombers providing yet another source of valuable there continuing their wayward drift. Displayed with permission • The American Surveyor • March • Copyright 2007 Cheves Media • www.TheAmericanSurveyor.com Researchers have learned that ocean things such as invasive species or to Top: The accidental release of approxi- surface currents can be chaotically simulate potential catastrophic oil spills. mately 29,000 plastic bathtub toys from a changeable. Two identical items released The preferred item now used for tracking cargo ship on January 10, 1992 provided at the same location and at the same movements is the drift card. These cards valuable data about the tracks of ocean time can end up in vastly different areas. are usually constructed from highly-vis- currents. Photo by David Ingraham. Severe storms that alter normal weather ible colors in waterproof envelopes. The patterns also play an important role in more preferred method is the use of a Bottom: Purposely released drift bottles the movement of drift items. card made of a biodegradable material by C&GS each contained a postcard The last occurrence of C&GS using that dissolves after a period of time. instructing the finder to report the date drift bottles occurred between the years The biodegradable cards are important and location of the discovery. 1958 and 1966. These bottles, which because of increased awareness that were seven fluid ounces in size and eight foreign objects could potentially harm While not always scientifically appealing and one-half inches tall, contained both marine life or be considered waste due to their simple nature of construc- a numbered note and postcard. While material in the oceans. These cards can tion, drift items have proven to accu- the note and postcard were printed in be dropped in large quantities from rately trace the movements of our ocean English only, the outside of the bottle aircraft, and it is assumed that the cards waters, where modern computers at best had wording printed in five different have less friction upon the surface of the can only simulate possible patterns. languages (see images). water than the traditional bottles which Today most oceanographers use could be affected by wind. Jerry Penry is a Nebraska licensed satellites and high-tech buoys for tracking With increased data, it is becoming land surveyor. He is a frequent con- items, however, many conservation apparent that major surface current tributor to The American Surveyor, and agencies continue to use drift items to systems, once thought to be stable, has written numerous articles for other track the movements of the ocean for are capable of huge and sudden shifts.