Abstract
THERE appears to be very little published scientific information about the chemical characteristics and plankton content of the sea along the West African coast except for observations made by various scientific expeditions passing through these waters, and there appears to be no published data in English of continuous observations made over a prolonged period. An opportunity to make such observations presented itself in 1943 and 1944, arising out of a scheme by the Gold Coast Government to develop the local fishing industry; and an attempt has been made to obtain some information of the variations occurring throughout the year in the chemical composition and plankton content of the inshore waters of the Gold Coast Colony. As no suitable craft was available for going far out to sea, the samples were taken at a point about one and a half miles from the shore in a depth of eight fathoms of water off Accra, the capital of the Colony. Samples were taken each week (with one or two exceptions) from the beginning of June 1943 to the end of September 1944. One sample was taken for chemical examination and one for a rough examination of the quantity and general character of the plankton content; both samples were taken 5–6 feet below the surface. The temperature of the samples was taken at the time of sampling, and salinity, dissolved oxygen, and phosphate were estimated in the laboratory. These results are shown graphically in Figs. 1 and 2.
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HOWAT, G. Variations in the Composition of the Sea in West African Waters. Nature 155, 415–417 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/155415a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/155415a0
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