Appendices
Appendix No. I
GENERAL RESULTS OF THE BELGIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION
BY
ÉMILE RACOVITZA
Translated by Professor Émile Coulon de Jumonville
A great many parts of our globe are yet unexplored or imperfectly known. Among these regions the antarctic is certainly the largest and the least known, but not the least important.
The solution of the numerous questions connected with atmospheric circulation and oceanic waters, the biology of aquatic animals and the geographical distribution of living species, depends upon the progress of our information in that part of the globe. The aim of antarctic expeditions must, for the present, be scientific. It is of far less importance to reach high latitudes in those quarters than to bring as much scientific information as possible. It was this idea which moved Adrien de Gerlache, the promoter, organiser, and chief of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition. He consecrated to the scientific implements an important portion of the feeble resources he had on hand, and surrounded himself with specialists to whom he intrusted the care of making scientific observations during the voyage.
To Georges Lecointe was intrusted hydrography and cartography; to Émile Danco, the magnetic observations and the pendulum—after the latter’s death, which occurred in June, 1898, his service was continued by Georges Lecointe. The meteorological observations were made by Henryk Arctowski and by Antoine Dobrowolski. Arctowski also had charge of the oceanographical and geological studies. Frederick A. Cook, the surgeon of the expedition, took charge of the photographic service and anthropological observations. I was charged with the zoological and botanical observations.
The materials brought by the expedition are numerous in all their branches, but their study will not be completed before two or three years. It will not be until then that we can ascertain the importance of the results obtained. Thanks to the Belgian Government, a great publication is expected, and a commission has been chosen to organise and direct it.
We can, nevertheless, and immediately, enumerate some of the results. This is what I propose to do in a few words with this reservation: that these indications are, for the most part, provisional and far from representing a complete table of the scientific advantages which will be derived from the expedition.
Geography and Geology
The geographical discoveries were made in the south and west of Bransfield Strait in Dirk-Gerritz Archipelago. In this region earlier explorers noticed a large land (Palmerland), separated by a gulf (Hughes Gulf) from another land situated in the east (Trinityland). Larsen, the captain of the Jason (1892), having seen south of Louis Philippeland a vast communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific, Trinityland became an island for geographers. Dallmann, the captain of the Grönland (1872), had discovered on the Pacific side an entrance to a strait (Bismarck Strait). Geographers then made an effort, upon the maps, to communicate Hughes Gulf with Bismarck Strait.
The observations of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition demonstrate that this is all incorrect. Palmerland is a vast archipelago of small islands; Hughes Gulf is the entrance to a large strait which brings Bransfield Strait into communication with the Pacific Ocean. This strait extends from latitude 63° 51′ to 65° south, and its direction is north-east to south-west. The Pacific mouth of Belgica Strait does not coincide with the entrance to Bismarck Strait, which, from the position assigned by Dallmann, is situated much farther south; but it is possible that Dallmann made a mistake in his observation, and that this is the very same strait. Trinityland is but the cape-land of a large tract (Dancoland) which forms the eastern shore of Belgica Strait, and which is only the continuation of Grahamland.
The shores of Belgica Channel are formed by high, mountainous table-lands with steep slopes and narrow valleys. One of the peaks appears to rise above an altitude of two thousand metres. The channels which separate these lands have steep perpendicular shores and possess great depths in their centre. The appearance of these lands and channels indicates that we have to do with a sunken region, in which the valleys were invaded by the sea. These lands are entirely formed by ancient crystalline rocks, granites, greenstones, and syenites. We have seen gneiss only at the mouth of the Pacific Strait. This fact indicates that we were in the central part of the antarctic chain, whose general direction is that of Belgica Strait. At the time of our sojourn in these regions, from the 23d of January to the 12th of February, the strait was free from ice. There were only a few icebergs. If some small islands were only partially covered with ice, all those of a larger extent and Dancoland were completely covered with an immense crust of ice which showed itself under three different forms. The interior was all occupied by a frozen sheet, which may be compared with the Greenland inland ice. Everywhere upon the mountain-sides were suspended glaciers, and in all the valleys were tremendous crystalline currents which ran into the sea. The limit of eternal snow coincides here almost to a certainty with the level of the sea. The study of the moraines allowed us to state that the glaciers had receded, and at the same time gave us a decisive information as to a much more considerable extension at an anterior epoch. The erratic materials furnish us with rocks much more varied than those found on the spot. We have even met with transformed sedimentary rocks.
Another important geographical discovery is that of a continental table-land or plateau situated between longitude 75° and 103° west of Greenwich, and from latitude 70° to 71° 36′ south. Its mean depth is 500 metres; with an abrupt fall to 1500 metres towards the north. The depth of the continental plateau, generally placed at from 200 to 300 metres, shows that this region has also undergone the depressive movement which was remarked in the lands of Belgica Strait. The continental plateau rises gently towards the south, and lowers in its eastern portion towards the north in order to connect itself most assuredly with the continental plateau of Graham and Alexander lands. It must connect in a like manner towards the west, fifty degrees farther, with the continental plateau discovered by Ross east of Victorialand. We would then have a continuous or uninterrupted continental mass from longitude 50° west to 63° east. However, the discovery made by the Belgica gives a serious support to the hypothesis of an antarctic continent—an hypothesis made the more likely from many other considerations, of which I shall cite only one, which is in its place here; that is to say, the terreous nature of the sediments of the continental plateau and neighbouring regions. Indeed, these sediments contain, besides the grayish slime, a very strong proportion of sand, gravel, and a very great number of pebbles of rounded form, which were certainly rolled by the sea, and were a part of a littoral cordon. I need not say that the transport of these substances must have been made by the ice. If this plateau indicates the existence of a continental mass south of the seventy-second parallel, inversely, the driftway of the Belgica demonstrates the non-existence of the ice-wall reported by Bellingshausen, and the same thing may be said of the land signalled by Walker, since we passed with the ice-drift over its supposed position. The easy drifting of the pack towards the west renders impossible the presence of the land reported by Cook towards longitude 105° west.
Astronomy and Magnetism
The magnetic observations were the object of mensuration upon the deflection, inclination, and terrestrial magnetic intensity. They were effected principally with the aid of the Neumayer apparatus; Gambey’s compass and Brunner’s theodolite were utilised on land, either at the stopping-places on Belgica Channel or in the known regions, where they were used for comparing and determining constant quantities. On the ice-pack the perpetual motions of the ice did not allow us to install our apparatus for variations. Absolute and ready measurements were the only ones made. The magnetic stations number sixty.
The astronomical observations had for their principal object chronometric regulations. We utilised the method of lunar distances—that of star occultations by the moon, as well as the eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites.
Pendulum measurements were made in the Strait of Magellan, at Punta Arenas.
The sketch of Belgica Strait was drawn by taking, as principal points, twelve stations whose co-ordinates were astronomically determined. The other stations were obtained either by the method of sufficient segments or by that of magnetic bearings. We employed also Admiral Mouchez’s method.
While drifting, the positions of the ship were observed and calculated either by Marcy Saint-Hilaire’s method or Borda’s, when the latitude had been determined beforehand by a culmination or a circummeridian.
Meteorology
The only notions we had about the climate of the antarctic were based upon the very inadequate observations made during the three summer months. The Belgian Antarctic Expedition is the first which enables us to furnish a series of observations taken hourly during a full year. These observations were made during the year of the imprisonment of the Belgica in the ice-pack between latitudes 70° and 71° 36′ south, and from longitude 85° to 103° west. In order to appreciate thoroughly the conclusions which can be derived from these observations, we must not forget that the Belgica, during her wintering in the ice-pack, was in the neighbourhood of free waters; in consequence, the climate studied is a coast climate, influenced partly by the neighbourhood of the sea, partly by that of the continental antarctic land mass covered with eternal snow. The definite corrections of figures obtained have not as yet been made; still, we are able to present the general results with an adequate approximation.
The minimum temperature was observed in September; it was -43°. The maximum is remarkably low: +2° (in February). The month of July is the coldest of the year, with an average of -22.5°. The warmest month is February: average, -1°. The mean temperature of the year is -9.6°, an extraordinarily low figure for that latitude.
North of the Spitsbergen, at latitude 80° north, we have -8.9°. The mean temperature in summer is -1.5°, a figure just as remarkable for its latitude, considering that the expedition of the Fram obtained for a summer average -1.2° by latitude 84° north. This low temperature can only be explained by the absence of land towards the north, and the presence of an antarctic continent entirely covered with ice. This hypothesis is based upon a fact which was observed by the expedition. Every time the wind blew from the north the temperature rose, even in midwinter, to 0°, but did not ascend higher. As soon as the wind shifted and blew from the south the thermometer descended abruptly, even in the middle of summer, to a very low temperature.
In the interior of the antarctic continent there must be a pole whose temperature is much lower than the frigidity of the arctic poles of cold; the frozen surface of the antarctic continent is in effect much larger than that of Greenland, northern Siberia, or North America. The zone explored by the Belgica lies in a cyclonic region; yet the mean barometric pressure of the year, 744 mm..7, obtained by a direct observation, is superior by 6 mm. to the theoretical figure obtained by Ferrel for that latitude, and demonstrates that the pressure does not decrease progressively towards the pole, where, on the contrary, there must reign an anticyclone. The absolute minimum was 711 mm..74, one of the lowest pressures observed on the level of the sea. The maximum pressure was 772 mm..14. The maximum average monthly variations of the barometer height is 34 mm..30—a very high figure, which indicates that the tempestuous region extends beyond the polar circle. The barometer height is in the average maximum at the solstices, and minimum at the equinoxes, which shows that in the antarctic there is a direct and very simple relation between the barometric pressure and the sun’s altitude. Winds are frequent and generally violent. Only fifty-five days of calm or very feeble wind were reckoned for a whole year. In the summer, breezes blow mostly from eastern regions; in winter from the western. It is probable that our region is already freed from the direct influence of the circular antarctic zone of western winds. The air is almost constantly saturated with watery vapour, and humidity settles down in the form of fog and snow with remarkable facility. Hoarfrost accumulates in enormous quantities upon every object—upon the ice-pack, the new ice, and even upon the falling snowflakes. During the year we counted two hundred and fifty-seven days of snowfall, and fourteen days of drizzling rain. The sky is almost constantly obscured by a cloak of grayish and low mists, which, when they sometimes happen to disappear, allow a pure sky to be seen, upon which only a few high clouds and very elongated cirri may be noticed. It would not do to generalise these observations and come to the conclusion that the whole antarctic is subject to the climatic régime which we have just described. It is very probable, on the contrary, that in the interior of the antarctic continent the sky must be very often pure, humidity lighter, and snowfalls less frequent. The Belgica was, in fact, imprisoned in a littoral zone, that is, in a zone where came, to be condensed itself, all the humidity brought forth by the winds of the vast regions of a free sea situated farther north. The south wind, or land wind, always had the effect of driving the clouds away and bringing on a dry cold. Optical phenomena were very often noticed. Splendid sunrises and sunsets, parhelia, paraselenæ, and mirage phenomena were remarkable and varied. During the whole winter austral auroras were frequent, but not remarkably vivid. One single drape-like aurora was seen; the others looked like luminous clouds traversed by moving rays.
Insolation during the summer months is considerable. On the 30th of December the thermometer with a black ball marked +41°, while the temperature of the air was at -1°. The effect of that insolation is, however, but little felt upon the ice-pack; the upper layer of snow hardly melts in summer.
Ice
The observations made with regard to this subject confirm what was already known from the examination of the arctic ice. The ice directly produced by the freezing of sea-water is never of great thickness, but this thickness increases on one side by the accumulation of snows on its surface, and on the other by the heaping of blocks during the pressure. These mechanical phenomena are able to form slabs eight metres in height. The pressures are produced, in the regions explored by the Belgica, by the wind, which is thus foretold: In summer, during calm weather, there is always a change in the ice-pack, which is accompanied by a formation of cracks and leads. The pressure is produced afterwards, but before the wind is felt; it generally ceases some time after the wind prevails and when the ice-pack is drifting. This seems to me to prove that the pressure is the result of difference in the velocity of the drifting parts of the ice-pack, and this difference is due to the fact that a wind which begins to blow drives the portion of the ice-pack on which it blows upon the rest, which has not hitherto felt its influence.
It must be said that the pressure may also be produced when the ice-pack is driven by the wind against land. The icebergs met by the expedition are incontestably formed by an ice which has a different origin from that which forms the ice-pack, properly speaking. An iceberg is indisputably a fragment of a terrestrial glacier. All the particulars which we have been able to state, concerning the structure of the floating iceberg, were equally observed in the structure of the façades of the glaciers of Belgica Strait.
Oceanography
A sounding-line was much used between Staten Island and the South Shetlands. It allowed us to find out that Drake Strait is the prolongation of the oceanic basin of the Pacific. At a short distance from Staten Island the continental plateau falls abruptly from 296 metres to 1574 metres; farther south we find 4040 metres; then the bottom rises gently towards the South Shetlands, which rest themselves upon a continental plateau. These soundings bring forth an important argument for those who, like myself, believe in the independence of the American and antarctic continents. The chain of the Andes, first directed from north to south, bends or inclines towards the east to Tierra del Fuego, and takes a west-easterly direction in Staten Island. Perhaps also this curve is in the direction of the north-east through the Falkland Islands. In the same manner the chains of Grahamland are divided from south-west to north-east, and through the South Shetlands from west to east, a direction which, in the South Orkney Isles, leans slightly towards the south-east. It seems to me that there is here a system of divergent chains. Other people, however, connect these two chains by means of a vast hypothetical curve. It is evident that this question can only be solved by the oceanographical study of the region comprised between New Georgia of the south and Drake Strait.
In Drake Strait the temperature of the superficial sheet of water is above 0°, but below its surface the temperature descends to -1°, to ascend again from 200 metres thereabout, and maintains itself in the depths above 0°, at the bottom (3660 metres), where it is +0.6°; the whole column of water cools progressively towards the south. The sheet of cold water signalled below its surface has the shape of a wedge, whose point is directed north and whose base is south. This sheet of cold water increases in thickness towards the south, and nears the surface at the same time. It is due to the presence and melting of icebergs.
In the region situated between longitudes 75° and 103° west, and from latitude 69° to latitude 71° 30′ south, the temperature of the water is somewhat diverse.
Above the continental plateau the superficial sheet of water has a temperature of -2°, but the temperature ascends gradually as far as the bottom, where it maintains itself between 0° and +1°. The cold water occupies a greater thickness than the warm water, and this thickness increases towards the south. North of the continental plateau the temperatures of the water are nearly the same as in Drake Strait. No constant currents were observed, although the ice-pack in which the Belgica was inclosed was in constant motion; and though the drifting movement exceeded sometimes ten miles a day, it is not possible to establish to a certainty the existence of a current. The drifting was certainly determined by the exclusive influence of the wind, and I do not doubt but that a careful comparison of the successive positions of the ice-pack and mariners’ cards will demonstrate it in a definite manner.
The sediments found upon the continental plateau and north of it are of a terreous origin, as stated before; but what is most remarkable is the great number of globigerinæ which are met there, and an absence of diatomaceæ. Yet the rapid examination of the plant showed a very abundant or rich flora of diatomaceæ, and almost no globigerinæ.
Zoology and Botany
As I have already remarked, the Belgica Channel lands are entirely covered with a continuous and thick cloak of ice; a few small islands, shores, and perpendicular cliffs alone show the naked rock. Upon this limited portion of antarctic land can vegetation alone develop itself; and, indeed, it does on these spots. The only floriferous plant we found is of the order Gramineæ, which probably belongs to the Aira species; but the mosses (known among others, Barbula and Bryum) and the lichens (known among others, Lecanora, Verrucaria, and Usnea) are more abundant. On the spots where the water oozes from the melting snows there grow some soft water-wracks—oscillariaceæ and diatomaceæ.
The terrestrial animals, properly so called, are represented by a small species of Diptera with rudimentary wings, podurellæ in large quantities, living with three or four species of small Acarida or mites among mosses and lichens. Upon soft water-wracks there rises a microscopic fauna composed of Nematoidea, Rotifera, Tardigrada, Infusoria, and Rhizopoda. These animals and plants represent at the present day the terrestrial antarctic fauna and flora, and no other living animal has yet been discovered upon the whole extent of the properly called antarctic region, for we cannot consider as terrestrial animals the birds and seals which inhabit this region. The question is to know what has become of the autochtone fauna and flora, which must have inhabited the great antarctic land and wastes during the geological periods, when the ice had not invaded the polar regions. To this question, it seems to me, there is but one answer to be made. The whole terrestrial antarctic fauna was destroyed during the glacial epochs, which, before the present epoch, covered over with ice more completely than to-day the whole antarctic region. We possess decisive information concerning the existence of a vast crystalline cap which stretched over the whole of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Moreover, we observed in Belgica Channel some glacial phenomena which incontestably indicate a much greater extension of ice than the present existing one. I believe that even the plants and terrestrial animals that were found upon the lands of Belgica Strait are not the remains of the antarctic flora and fauna of the preglacial epoch, but American immigrants brought by the large-winged birds which are common to both regions.
Birds are very numerous in the Belgica Channel, and the greater part of them rest in the holes and cracks of the cliffs. With but one exception, the Chionis alba, all are web-footed and are a part of the orders Gavia, Tubinares, Steganopoda, and Impenes. The most common are the Dominican sea-gull (Larus dominicanus), the brown sea-gull (Megalestris antarctica), the sea-swallow (Sterna hirundinacea), the large petrel (Ossifraga gigantea), the bird of tempests (Oceanites oceanicus), the Cape pigeon (Daption capensis), the carunculated cormorant (Phalacrocorax carunculatus), the Papuan penguin (Pygoscelis papua), and the antarctic penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica), these latter two living in vast rookeries; in short, the curious beak-sheathed bird (Chionis alba) which, like most other birds already mentioned, nests in the holes and crevices of rocks.
Two varieties of seals were seen in Belgica Channel—the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli), frequently met in small bands, and the crab-eater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga), which is more scarce. Among the Cetacea, the Megaptera boöps (?) is met in large troops, often in the company of a large balænoptera (Balænoptera Sibbaldii) (?), but no genuine black or Greenland bone whale was ever seen. The littoral fauna and flora are badly represented on account of the constant motion of the ice along the rocky shores of the sea. Sea-wracks cannot fix themselves upon them, nor can animals. Yet in some well-sheltered crevices I found some rare sea-grasses (Desmarestia, etc.), and patellæ with small inferior animals.
The first biological example we could ascertain, during our imprisonment of thirteen months in the ice-pack, was a general presence of diatomaceæ on the superficial sheets of the sea, as well as upon icebergs and in the interior of the holes and cracks of the sea-ice. The most frequently represented species are Chætoceros, Coscinodiscus, and Chorethron. The bed or plant is not very rich and but little varied. It is composed of small-sized animals, of which the most frequently represented are enumerated in the order of their frequency: the Copepodaes Radiolaria (Protocystis, Cannosphæra), Pteropoda (Limacina), Polychæta (Pelagobia), Copelata (Oikopleura), Ostracoda, Siphonophora (Eudoxia), etc.
The size of the bed or plant undergoes a season’s change. During the winter, sea-ice, being very thick, intercepts daylight; in consequence the diatomaceæ cannot increase and the bed decreases considerably in size. In the summer, on the contrary, sea-ice thins, cracks, and tracks are numerous; light can thus penetrate, which accounts for an abundant growth of diatomaceæ, and the bed increases considerably in volume.
One of the most important plancton forms or plants, with regard to the part it plays in the economy of antarctic life, is a species of the Euphausia kind. In fact, there exist immense shoals of this animal under the ice-pack, and these shoals serve as an almost exclusive food for seals, penguins, and presumably cetaceans.
Dredgings performed upon the continental plateau spoken of elsewhere brought forth a fauna which, from its general character, shows a remarkable affinity with the abyssal fauna. We fished, in effect, pedunculated Crinoidea, Elasipoda, benthal Asterias, Aselidæ, Pantopoda, Gorgonidæ, Polychæta, Cumacea, Mysidæ, Ascidiæ, which have a striking air of relationship with the similar forms fished in the great oceanic depths. This fact ought not to astonish us, for we well know that the great factor in the distribution of marine animals is temperature. Now, the temperature of the water upon this plateau of five hundred metres in depth is much the same as that of the oceanic depths. The groups best represented are the Echinodermata, Crustacea (Edriophthalma), Polychæta, Gorgonidæ, and Bryozoa. The birds which were constantly present upon the ice-pack are not numerous: the very large petrel (Ossifraga gigantea), the snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea), the antarctic petrel (Thalassocca antarctica), the brown sea-gull (Megalestris antarctica), Forster’s penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), and the Adelia land penguin (Pygosulis adeliæ).
The whole four seal species inhabiting the antarctic were seen during our stay in the ice-pack; that is, the crab-eater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga), Weddell sea-leopard (Leptonychotes weddelli), the true sea-leopard (Ogmorhynus leptonyx), and Ross’s seal (Ommatophoca Rossi). Balænoptera of a small size and Ziphiidæ came very often to breathe in the cracks and leads of the ice-pack. The temperature of the bodies of the seals is about +37°, that of the penguins about +40°. These figures are below the normal. These animals, in order to fight against the exterior cold, do not create more heat than this, only they lose less, and they arrive at this result by means of the thick covering of fat which surrounds them. Direct observations allow us to state this fact. The cold does not appear to have a pernicious influence upon the human organism. In temperatures of from -30° to -40° and calm weather, the feeling one experiences is rather pleasant and invigorating. It is naturally otherwise when the wind blows. I believe that for a traveller the great inconvenience of cold upon the ice-pack is that it creates a condensation of aqueous vapour which is eliminated by the skin’s surface. At the end of a short time the clothes are all wet, and it is hard under such conditions to get warm. But the greatest inconvenience in polar regions lies in the absence of the sun during the winter months. The pernicious influence of the absence of direct sunbeams, upon the human organism, was witnessed to a certainty during the winter of 1898.
The whole crew of the Belgica, without exception, presented symptoms which in medical books are grouped under the name of chronic anæmia. With them all we could notice a discoloration of the mucous membranes, dyspnœa, acceleration of the pulse, dizziness, insomnia, a complete incapacity for prolonged intellectual work, and even a swelling of the legs. The report of the surgeon of the expedition promises to be interesting under this head.
I have spoken only to call attention to the studies which were made by the members of the expedition in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. They will bring out some zoological, botanical, geological, and anthropological contributions for the knowledge of these important regions of the globe.
Appendix No. II
THE ANTARCTIC CLIMATE
BY
HENRYK ARCTOWSKI
The following is a preliminary account of some of the additions to our knowledge of the meteorology of higher southern latitudes contributed by the recent Belgian Antarctic Expedition.
These desolate antarctic regions, still so little explored, present many physical problems of the highest interest; the question of their climate, attacked as early as the time of Croll, must prove a subject of exhaustive investigation in the immediate future. The results I have obtained were not originally intended for publication in their present form, because the mean values involved can only be regarded as first approximations; however, it appears that my provisional numbers are sufficiently exact to indicate the general nature of the climatic régime in parts of the globe about which we have been, up to the present, practically without information. The fact that other antarctic expeditions are about to set out has decided me to publish my figures as they stand.
For the purposes of our inquiry, it is a matter of indifference whether an antarctic continent exists or not; we have undoubtedly to deal with a continuous surface of ice, which the meteorologist must regard as a land surface as opposed to an open sea. This ice-cap is entirely isolated by an ocean which surrounds it, and is subjected to the peculiar conditions of polar day and night. Hence the first points to be considered are the average distribution of pressure and the direction of the prevailing winds. The positions (about 81° and 95° west longitude, and 69° 50′ and 71° 30′ south latitude) show a relatively small distance from the open sea and great distance from the pole. In consequence we experienced two distinct types of climate according to the direction of the wind,—a continental and an oceanic,—in effect a coastal climate depending on the passage of cyclones which varied in frequency with the seasons. This seems to be the key of the whole position. As regards details, I take into consideration the mean and minimum temperatures and the barometric pressures, the direction of wind, the amount of cloud, and the amount of precipitation.
Table I. gives the mean values obtained from hourly observations of temperature made on board the Belgica during her drift in the ice.
July was the coldest month; its mean temperature was -23.5° C. (-10.3° F.), and the lowest temperature observed during the month, -37.1° C. (-34.8° F.). The extreme minimum of temperature was observed in September, -43.1° C. (-45.6° F.).
The warmest month was February, with a mean temperature of -1.0° C. (30.2° F.), and minimum for the month, -9.6° C. (14.7° F.).
If we regard June, July, and August as the antarctic winter months, and December, January, and February as summer, we may take it that the mean winter temperature is -16.8° C. (1.8° F.), and the mean for summer, -1.5° C. (29.3° F.).
Table II. shows the minimum temperature for each month. The maximum temperatures are less interesting; the winter average is -1° to 0° C. (30° to 32° F.); the absolute maximum for the equinoctial months is 0° to 1° C. (32° to 34° F.), and for summer, 2° C. (36° F.).
These tables show that between the seventieth and seventy-first parallels of the southern hemisphere, and amid the ice of the Antarctic Ocean, first, the mean temperature is lower than that of the northern coast of Spitsbergen—Mossel Bay, 1872–73, -8.9° C. (16° F.); second, the minimum temperature is quite as low as the minima observed on the east side of Greenland (Sabine Island and Scoresby Sound); and third, that the mean temperature of the three summer months is lower than the corresponding mean in the ice of the Arctic Ocean—the observations of the Fram give a mean for June, July, and August of -1.2° C. (29.8° F.). Note that the calculations of Spitaler and Supan give a mean temperature for the parallel of 70° north latitude of -10.2° C. (13.6° F.). If we consider that a considerable fraction of the seventieth parallel of south latitude is land, we can suppose that it may have a mean temperature as low as the seventieth degree north, and include a pole of cold with lower temperature, as the Asiatic or North American poles of cold.
As in the case of the mean temperatures, the values I am able to give for mean barometric pressure must be regarded only as first approximations. During our drift in the pack-ice hourly observations were made with a marine barometer and with an aneroid. I have not yet been able to apply exact corrections to these observations, but if we bear in mind that while the temperature correction is negative, the correction for latitude is positive, and that for temperatures about 13° to 15° C. (55° to 60° F.) these corrections are numerically nearly equal, we can accept the uncorrected values as near enough for our present purpose. Table III. gives the averages of the aneroid observations, calculated to whole millimetres only. The mean for the year is 744.7 mm. (29.319 inches).
Tables IV. and V. give the principal minima and maxima of pressure observed; the values are reduced to the freezing-point and gravity at 45° latitude. The lowest pressure observed during our wintering was 711.74 mm. (28.022 inches), and the highest 772.14 mm. (30.400 inches), a range of 60.40 mm. (2.378 inches). Table VI. gives the monthly variations of the barometer, the mean value of which amounts to 34.30 mm. (1.350 inches), showing even more clearly than Table IV. that the cyclonic belt extends beyond the polar circle. From this table it appears, further, that the three months of almost continuous daylight (November, December, and January) are characterised by a very small variation of pressure—only 23.95 mm. (0.943 inch). The three corresponding months of winter have also a mean less than those for the intermediate or equinoctial months. Compare this with the mean pressures (Table III.). The differences between the annual and monthly means (Table VII.) show that February, March, and April form a negative group, in which the pressure is relatively low; the three months of polar night form another group of maximum barometric pressure; then follow August, September, and October, months of decreasing pressure, a group which, although not actually negative, forms a distinct secondary minimum; and lastly, three months of polar day forming a secondary maximum of pressure. The general result is illustrated in Fig. 1,—high pressure at the solstices, low pressure at the equinoxes,—and the existence of a direct simple relation between the barometric pressure and the progress of the sun is at once obvious.
Table VIII. gives the observed wind directions: the figures indicate the number of hours during which the wind blew from each direction during the twelve months, the sums constituting the “wind-rose” of the point of observation. Fig. 2 shows that winds blow from northerly and southerly points with almost equal frequency, and that easterly winds predominate over westerly. The directions of greatest frequency were west, east, and north-east.
The monthly wind-roses show some interesting seasonal variations in the prevailing directions of the wind; we note specially the predominance of north-east to south-east over westerly winds from November to February, and the relative frequency of westerly winds during June, July, and August (Fig. 3). The figures show that, on the whole, the station was beyond the westerly wind region, although at certain seasons the westerly system did extend as far south.
Some further points must be referred to in describing the climatic conditions we experienced. The temperature of the air is doubtless the most important element in the study of climate; but it seems to me that its importance is relatively less in polar regions than in other parts of the globe. In polar latitudes the human organism is chiefly influenced by the absence of the sun during the night of winter. In the summer, on the other hand, the radiant heat of the sun is so strongly concentrated that the temperature of the air scarcely measures the warmth we feel. Further, the action of the solar rays is directly beneficial—the sun strengthens and reanimates. And besides direct insolation, the diffused daylight itself must be considered. One feels quite different under a cloudless vault and under a sky overcast and sombre. The presence or absence of the sun is a much more important matter to us than the state of the thermometer.
The wind is another extremely important factor from the physiological point of view. In calm weather a temperature of -20° C. (-4° F.) is quite tolerable, even agreeable if the sun is shining; but with a light breeze one feels the cold at once, and in strong wind it is impossible to remain long in the open air with so low a temperature. It appears to me that humidity plays a quite secondary part in the physiology of the polar climate—at least, at low temperatures; in any case, the humidity of the atmosphere rarely makes itself felt.
Some actinometric observations will serve to indicate the intensity of radiant heat. At 2 P. M. on December 30, the temperature of the air being -0.2° C. (31.6° F.), the black-bulb thermometer read 45.1° C. (113.2° F.) in the sun, which explains why in reality the weather felt very warm.
The sky was usually overcast, most frequently with a thick layer of stratus, which formed a uniform gray covering, and often persisted for days or even weeks together, with only short breaks. Table IX. shows the state of the sky during each month of the year.
The number of days during which the air was not saturated, i.e., on which the hygrometer indicated humidity less than ninety per cent., was, in October, 12; November, 18; December, 22; January, 15; and February, 11.
If we include ice-deposits from fog and similar precipitation, we find that snowfall is recorded on 257 days of the year, made up as shown on the first column of Table X. The second column of Table X. shows the number of days on which rain (even a few drops) was recorded. Speaking generally, it may be said that the weather was extremely cloudy, that fogs were frequent, that snow fell on many days, and that the air was saturated nearly the whole time.
Table XI. gives particulars with regard to wind force.
Table I.—Mean Temperature.
| °C | °F | ||||||
| 1898. | March | -9.1 | -9.1 | 15.6 | 15.6 | ||
| April | -11.8 | 10.8 | |||||
| May | -6.5 | 20.3 | |||||
| June | 15.5 | -16.8 | 4.1 | 1.8 | |||
| July | 23.5 | -10.3 | |||||
| August | -11.3 | 11.7 | |||||
| September | -18.5 | -11.1 | -1.3 | 12.0 | |||
| October | -7.9 | 17.8 | |||||
| November | -6.9 | 19.6 | |||||
| December | -2.2 | -1.5 | 28.0 | 29.3 | |||
| 1899. | January | -1.2 | 29.8 | ||||
| February | -1.0 | 30.2 | |||||
| Year | -9.6 | 14.7 | |||||
| °C | °F | ||
| 1898. | February 23, at 10 p.m. | -7.6 | 18.3 |
| March 15, at 4 a.m. | -20.3 | -4.5 | |
| April 3, at 6 p.m. | -26.5 | -15.7 | |
| May 29, at 8 p.m. | -25.2 | -13.4 | |
| June 3, at 6 p.m. | -30.0 | -22.0 | |
| July 17, at 10 p.m. | -37.1 | -34.8 | |
| August 28, at 3 a.m. | -29.6 | -21.3 | |
| September 8, at 4 a.m. | -43.1 | -45.6 | |
| October 25, at 3 a.m. | -26.3 | -15.3 | |
| November 2, at 4 a.m. | -21.4 | -6.5 | |
| December 2, midnight | -14.5 | 5.9 | |
| 1899. | January 2, at 2 a.m. | -8.1 | 17.4 |
| February 11, at 2 a.m. | -9.6 | 14.7 | |
| March 4, midnight | -12.0 | 10.4 | |
Table III.—Monthly Means (Approximate) of Barometric Pressure.
| - | MM. | INCHES. | |
| 1898. | February1 | 738.5 | 29.075 |
| March | 741.4 | 29.190 | |
| April | 735.6 | 28.961 | |
| May | 746.3 | 29.382 | |
| June | 749.5 | 29.508 | |
| July | 747.8 | 29.441 | |
| August | 747.2 | 29.418 | |
| September | 745.5 | 29.351 | |
| October | 744.7 | 29.319 | |
| November | 746.0 | 29.371 | |
| December | 748.2 | 29.457 | |
| 1899. | January | 747.3 | 29.422 |
| February | 736.5 | 28.997 | |
| Year | 744.7 | 29.319 | |
Table IV.—Minimum Pressures Observed.
| - | REDUCED TO FREEZING-POINT. | REDUCED TO FREEZING-POINT AND LAT. 45°. | |||
| MM. | INCHES. | MM. | INCHES. | ||
| 1898. | February 18, at 6 a.m. | 724.53 | 28.526 | 725.93 | 28.581 |
| March 22, at 4 a.m. | 719.96 | 28.345 | 721.48 | 28.405 | |
| April 20, at 3 a.m. | 714.66 | 28.136 | 716.15 | 28.195 | |
| May 10, at 11 p.m. | 730.26 | 28.751 | 731.78 | 28.811 | |
| June 21, at 1 a.m. | 733.58 | 28.881 | 735.11 | 28.941 | |
| July 31, at 2 a.m. | 731.77 | 28.811 | 733.28 | 28.870 | |
| August 12, at 4 a.m. | 715.81 | 28.182 | 717.31 | 28.241 | |
| September 22, at 6 a.m. | 719.29 | 28.319 | 720.77 | 28.377 | |
| October 23, at 4 a.m. | 722.06 | 28.428 | 723.53 | 28.486 | |
| November 19, at 3 p.m. | 731.33 | 28.793 | 732.82 | 28.852 | |
| December 22, at 10 p.m. | 735.52 | 28.958 | 737.01 | 29.016 | |
| 1899. | January 30, at 10 p.m. | 733.92 | 28.895 | 735.43 | 28.955 |
| February 17, at 11 p.m. | 718.59 | 28.292 | 720.08 | 28.350 | |
| March 2, at 3 a.m. | 710.26 | 27.963 | 711.74 | 28.022 | |
Absolute minimum, 711.74 mm. = 28.022 inches.
Table V.—Maximum Pressures Observed.
| - | REDUCED TO FREEZING-POINT. | REDUCED TO FREEZING-POINT AND LAT. 45°. | |||
| MM. | INCHES. | MM. | INCHES. | ||
| 1898. | February 11, at 4 p.m. | 755.82 | 29.757 | 757.11 | 29.808 |
| March 29, at 1 a.m. | 755.35 | 29.739 | 756.95 | 29.802 | |
| April 26, at 7 a.m. | 753.80 | 29.678 | 755.37 | 29.739 | |
| May 13, at 4 p.m. | 764.28 | 30.090 | 765.90 | 30.154 | |
| June 11, at 1 a.m. | 770.48 | 30.334 | 772.14 | 30.400 | |
| July 18, at 8 p.m. | 761.53 | 29.983 | 763.10 | 30.044 | |
| August 29, at 6 p.m. | 765.43 | 30.135 | 766.99 | 30.197 | |
| September 16, at 9 p.m. | 757.77 | 29.834 | 759.31 | 29.894 | |
| October 12, at 8 a.m. | 764.80 | 30.111 | 766.35 | 30.172 | |
| November 13, at 4 a.m. | 754.05 | 29.688 | 755.58 | 29.748 | |
| December 18, at 5 a.m. | 757.65 | 29.829 | 759.20 | 29.890 | |
| 1899. | January 24, at 8 p.m. | 760.76 | 29.951 | 762.33 | 30.013 |
| February 22, at 3 a.m. | 751.63 | 29.593 | 753.17 | 29.653 | |
Absolute maximum, 772.14 mm. = 30.400 inches.
Table VI.—Maximum Variations of Pressure, and Means of those Variations.
| MM. | INCHES. | ||||
| 1899. | February | 33.09 | 35.93 | 1.303 | |
| 1898. | March | 35.47 | 1.397 | ||
| April | 39.22 | 1.544 | |||
| May | 34.12 | 33.66 | 1.343 | ||
| June | 37.03 | 1.458 | |||
| July | 29.82 | 1.174 | |||
| August | 49.68 | 43.68 | 1.955 | ||
| September | 38.54 | 1.518 | |||
| October | 42.82 | 1.686 | |||
| November | 22.76 | 23.95 | 0.897 | ||
| December | 22.19 | 0.874 | |||
| 1899. | January | 26.90 | 1.059 | ||
| Mean | 34.30 | 1.350 | |||
Extreme range for the year: 772.14—711.74 = 60.40 mm.
30.400—28.022 = 2.378 inches.
Table VII.—Differences of Monthly Means of Pressure from the Mean of the Year.
The + sign indicates pressure greater than the mean, the - sign pressure less than the mean.
| MM. | INCHES. | ||||
| 1899. | February | -8.2 | -0.323 | minimum. | |
| 1898. | March | -3.3 | -0.130 | ||
| April | -9.1 | -0.358 | |||
| May | +1.6 | +0.063 | maximum. | ||
| June | +4.8 | +0.189 | |||
| July | +3.1 | +0.122 | |||
| August | +2.5 | +0.098 | 2nd minimum. | ||
| September | +0.8 | +0.031 | |||
| October | 0.0 | 0.000 | |||
| November | +1.3 | +0.051 | 2nd maximum. | ||
| December | +3.5 | +0.138 | |||
| 1899. | January | +2.6 | +0.102 | ||
| N. | N. | N. | E. | E. | E. | S. | S. | S. | S. | S. | W. | W. | W. | N. | N. | |
| N. | E. | N. | S. | E. | S. | S. | W. | S. | N. | W. | N. | |||||
| E. | E. | E. | E. | W. | W. | W. | W. | |||||||||
| 1898. | ||||||||||||||||
| March | 14 | 26 | 38 | 60 | 68 | 50 | 34 | 30 | 82 | 22 | 64 | 56 | 78 | 22 | 22 | 10 |
| April | 30 | 22 | 13 | 27 | 84 | 64 | 76 | 59 | 32 | 21 | 25 | 20 | 51 | 49 | 50 | 31 |
| May | 100 | 121 | 72 | 8 | 17 | 33 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 65 | 75 | 61 | 83 |
| June | 14 | 22 | 26 | 33 | 34 | 25 | 28 | 9 | 24 | 8 | 76 | 38 | 191 | 87 | 37 | 16 |
| July | 22 | 10 | 1 | -- | 24 | 72 | 31 | 70 | 54 | 28 | 48 | 38 | 81 | 48 | 25 | 4 |
| August | 32 | 14 | 38 | 29 | 26 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 19 | 10 | 47 | 56 | 141 | 76 | 104 | 38 |
| Sept. | 51 | 24 | 74 | 44 | 46 | 22 | 28 | 14 | 49 | 16 | 47 | 21 | 59 | 45 | 24 | 17 |
| Oct. | 47 | 31 | 46 | 8 | 45 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 41 | 24 | 69 | 74 | 91 | 42 | 83 | 32 |
| Nov. | 34 | 35 | 69 | 93 | 79 | 32 | 21 | 14 | 21 | 31 | 37 | 28 | 38 | 28 | 18 | 21 |
| Dec. | 3 | 12 | 53 | 92 | 67 | 107 | 55 | 16 | 21 | 24 | 63 | 58 | 44 | 5 | 11 | 7 |
| 1899. | ||||||||||||||||
| Jan. | 8 | 16 | 124 | 156 | 104 | 84 | 52 | 72 | 20 | 12 | 28 | 16 | 8 | -- | -- | -- |
| Feb. | 32 | 42 | 70 | 49 | 111 | 99 | 72 | 37 | 22 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 35 | 13 | 17 | 6 |
| 387 | 375 | 624 | 599 | 705 | 608 | 442 | 351 | 394 | 207 | 519 | 445 | 882 | 490 | 452 | 265 |
Table IX.
Column 1 shows number of days of continuous fog or overcast sky.
Column 2 shows number of days with sky partially clear for several hours in succession (cloud amount 30 per cent. or more).
Column 3 shows number of days on which fog was observed.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| March | 6 | 15 | 14 |
| April | 10 | 14 | 26 |
| May | 15 | 8 | 27 |
| June | 5 | 16 | 28 |
| July | 7 | 22 | 17 |
| August | 9 | 15 | 25 |
| September | 9 | 14 | 14 |
| October | 16 | 12 | 23 |
| November | 13 | 10 | 18 |
| December | 9 | 13 | 13 |
| January | 17 | 6 | 17 |
| February | 21 | 1 | 23 |
Table X.
Column 1 shows the number of days on which snow was recorded.
Column 2 shows the number of days on which rain was recorded.
| 1 | 2 | |
| March | 13 | — |
| April | 22 | — |
| May | 30 | 4 |
| June | 24 | — |
| July | 14 | — |
| August | 26 | 1 |
| September | 19 | — |
| October | 25 | 2 |
| November | 25 | — |
| December | 18 | — |
| January | 19 | 4 |
| February | 22 | 3 |
| Year | 257 | 14 |
Table XI.
Column 1 shows the number of days of calm, or of wind not exceeding force 1.
Column 2 shows the number of days of wind force less than 4.
| 1 | 2 | |
| March | 0 | 11 |
| April | 2 | 5 |
| May | 3 | 13 |
| June | 3 | 11 |
| July | 15 | 25 |
| August | 3 | 15 |
| September | 7 | 20 |
| October | 4 | 11 |
| November | 8 | 21 |
| December | 4 | 21 |
| January | 5 | 24 |
| February | 1 | 12 |
Appendix No. III
THE BATHYMETRICAL CONDITIONS OF THE ANTARCTIC REGIONS
BY
HENRYK ARCTOWSKI
The scientific work of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition was commenced in the channels of Tierra del Fuego, and after the vessel left the pack they were concluded at Punta Arenas. It is thus impossible to discuss the physical geography of the antarctic regions in general without including the scientific results of the expedition of the Belgica.
The works of Murray, Neumayer, Fricker, and others,2 give a general account of the previous state of our knowledge of the antarctic regions, and therefore I prefer to give a short summary of the results obtained by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition from the point of view of oceanography.
The Belgica had the advantage of navigating a region in which no previous bathymetric researches had been made, and her soundings have a special value (although their actual number was not great) because they were not taken at random. On the voyage from Staten Island to the South Shetlands, a line of soundings was run nearly from north to south, giving a transverse section of the “antarctic channel” which separates the Andes from one of the projecting angles of Murray’s hypothetical antarctic continent. In another place also, beyond the antarctic circle, and to the west of Alexander I. Land, we were able to obtain a series of soundings, some before entering the ice, the others on account of the drift of the vessel when imprisoned in the pack. The soundings on our way southward are given in the Table as Nos. 1–9, and those taken between 70° and 107° west as Nos. 10–56, while the results are represented chartographically in the two maps.
The first map shows the probable arrangement of the depths to the south of Cape Horn and in the antarctic regions. Soundings Nos. 1, 2, and 3 prove that south of Staten Island the continental shelf is very narrow, and terminates seaward in an abrupt slope, the greatest depth sounded (2209 fathoms) lying, in fact, very near the island. To the east, on the contrary, the continental shelf extends to a great distance as Burdwood Bank.
Between the southern versant of the Andes and the mountain system forming the framework of the antarctic lands visited by the expedition, there lies a deep, flat-bottomed depression, the floor of which rises gently towards the south, and not far from the South Shetlands an abrupt slope leads up to the rocky shallows near Livingstone Island. The last sounding taken gave a depth of 2625 fathoms in 56° 28′ south and 84° 46′ west, proving that the depth increases towards the Pacific Ocean. As, on the contrary, the Sandwich group, South Georgia, and Shag Rocks lie to the east, it seems probable that this great basin (called Barker Basin on the chart in the Challenger Reports) does not extend to the east of these islands. In a note on the interest which attaches to the geological exploration of the lands in the far south, which I published in December, 1895,3 I suggested that “Grahamland is connected with Patagonia by a submarine ridge, which forms a great arc extending between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands, and that the tertiary chain of the Andes reappears in Grahamland.” I maintain this hypothesis, which demands for its satisfactory demonstration not only the geological study of the land, but also and chiefly a detailed bathymetrical map. The first step to this end has now been made.
The second map, showing soundings in the pack, is on a larger scale than the first, and shows the distribution of the soundings to the west of the land, and within the antarctic circle. It clearly demonstrates the presence of a continental shelf. The section along the line AB is extremely characteristic, showing distinctly that the submarine slope is discontinuous. The submerged bank, which terminates abruptly towards the ocean, has depths of from 200 to 300 fathoms, and farther south the depths are probably still less. I shall not discuss the configuration of this submarine elevation as one might imagine it to be from the soundings taken upon it, for the soundings are not numerous enough for this to be done profitably. But I cannot refrain from calling attention to one point which seems to me of great importance. The edge of the plateau is indicated by the isobath of 300 fathoms, beyond which the depths increase very rapidly. Now, it is the 100-fathom line which is generally accepted as the limit of the continental shelf, and it would appear possible that in the antarctic regions the continental shelf had been submerged. The discussion of this interesting question would, however, lead us too far.
It is noteworthy that the soundings carried out by the Erebus and Terror to the east of Victorialand, and north of the ice-barrier discovered by Ross, also indicate the existence of a continental shelf with much greater depths to the north. Between the two there still remains a space of 60° of longitude to explore before one can say whether they are connected.
All the positions were fixed by M. Lecointe, and I am indebted to the kindness of this accomplished astronomer for the exact place of each sounding. The sounding-machine of the Belgica was constructed by Le Blanc at Paris, and is similar to that employed on the Pola by the Austrian expedition. During the wintering in the ice, M. de Gerlache had a simple but effective arrangement constructed on board, which was fitted up on the ice close to the ship, and only required a hole to be cut in order to allow a sounding to be made. It consisted of a wooden drum carrying the sounding-wire, a brake consisting of a cord and a strong piece of wood serving as a lever to regulate the descent of the weight, and two cranks on the axle of the drum to heave in the wire. A wheel of one metre in circumference, with a counter from the Le Blanc machine, allowed the depth to be read off. The line ran through a block attached by a dynamometer to three poles arranged as a tripod. The soundings and temperature observations were laborious, and it is due to the co-operation of MM. Amundsen, Tollefsen, Johansen, Melaerts, Van Rysselberghe, and of M. de Gerlache himself, that it has been made possible for me to write these notes on the bathymetrical conditions of the antarctic regions.
TABLE OF SOUNDINGS.
| Date. | Depth in Metres. | Fathoms. | Latitude. | Longitude West. | No. |
| 1898. | ° ′ | ° ′ | |||
| Jan. 14 | 296 | 162 | 54 51 | 63 37 | 1 |
| „ 14 | 1564 | 855 | 55 3 | 63 29 | 2 |
| „ 15 | 4040 | 2209 | 55 51 | 63 19 | 3 |
| „ 16 | 3850 | 2105 | 56 49 | 64 30 | 4 |
| „ 18 | 3800 | 2078 | 59 58 | 63 12 | 5 |
| „ 19 | 3690 | 2018 | 61 5 | 63 4 | 6 |
| „ 20 | 2900 | 1586 | 62 2 | 61 58 | 7 |
| „ 20 | 1880 | 1028 | 62 11 | 61 37 | 8 |
| „ 28 | 625 | 342 | 64 23 | 62 2 | 9 |
| Feb. 16 | 135 | 74 | 67 59 | 70 40 | 10 |
| „ 19 | 480 | 262 | 69 6 | 78 21 | 11 |
| „ 23 | 565 | 309 | 69 46 | 81 8 | 12 |
| „ 24 | 510 | 279 | 69 31 | 81 31 | 13 |
| „ 25 | 2700 | 1476 | 69 17 | 82 25 | 14 |
| „ 27 | 2600 | 1422 | 69 24 | 84 39 | 15 |
| „ 27 | 1730 | 946 | 69 41 | 84 43 | 16 |
| Mar. 1 | 570 | 312 | 71 6 | 85 23 | 17 |
| „ 1 | 520 | 284 | 71 17 | 85 43 | 18 |
| „ 2 | 460 | 251 | 71 31 | 85 16 | 19 |
| „ 4 | 530 | 290 | 71 22 | 84 55 | 20 |
| „ 5 | 520 | 284 | 71 19 | 85 29 | 21 |
| „ 9 | 554 | 303 | 71 23 | 85 33 | 22 |
| „ 20 | 390 | 213 | 71 35 | 88 2 | 23 |
| April 22 | 480 | 262 | 71 2 | 92 3 | 24 |
| „ 26 | 410 | 224 | 70 50 | 92 22 | 25 |
| May 4 | 1150 | 629 | 70 33 | 89 22 | 26 |
| „ 20 | 435 | 238 | 71 16 | 87 38 | 27 |
| „ 26 | 436 | 238 | 71 13 | 87 44 | 28 |
| Sept. 2 | 502 | 274 | 70 0 | 82 45 | 29 |
| „ 9 | 510 | 279 | 69 51 | 82 36 | 30 |
| „ 14 | 480 | 262 | 69 53 | 83 4 | 31 |
| „ 22 | 485 | 265 | 70 23 | 82 31 | 32 |
| „ 26 | 485 | 265 | 70 21 | 82 52 | 33 |
| „ 29 | 480 | 262 | 70 21 | 82 39 | 34 |
| Oct. 7 | 480 | 262 | 70 30 | 82 48 | 35 |
| „ 16 | 532 | 291 | 69 59 | 80 54 | 36 |
| „ 19 | 580 | 317 | 70 1 | 81 45 | 37 |
| „ 24 | 537 | 294 | 69 43 | 80 51 | 38 |
| Nov. 2 | 518 | 283 | 69 51 | 81 24 | 39 |
| „ 10 | 490 | 268 | 70 9 | 82 35 | 40 |
| „ 28 | 459 | 251 | 70 20 | 83 23 | 41 |
| Dec. 20 | 569 | 311 | 70 15 | 84 6 | 42 |
| „ 22 | 645 | 253 | 70 19 | 84 51 | 43 |
| „ 27 | 630 | 344 | 70 20 | 85 52 | 44 |
| „ 29 | 660 | 361 | 70 15 | 85 51 | 45 |
| „ 31 | 950 | 519 | 70 1 | 85 20 | 46 |
| 1899. | |||||
| Jan. 2 | 1360 | 744 | 69 52 | 85 13 | 47 |
| „ 4 | 1470 | 804 | 69 50 | 85 12 | 48 |
| „ 7 | 1490 | 815 | 69 52 | 85 32 | 49 |
| Feb. 10 | 1166 | 638 | 70 34 | 93 17 | 50 |
| „ 19 | 1740 | 951 | 70 30 | 94 12 | 51 |
| Mar. 2 | 430 | 235 | 70 53 | 97 17 | 52 |
| „ 5 | 425 | 232 | 70 51 | 97 57 | 53 |
| „ 12 | 564 | 308 | 70 56 | 100 18 | 54 |
| „ 13 | 1195 | 653 | 70 50 | 102 14 | 55 |
| „ 23 | 4800 | 2625 | 56 28 | 84 46 | 56 |
Appendix No. IV
NAUTICAL POSITIONS AND MAGNETIC DEDUCTIONS
BY
CAPTAIN GEORGES LECOINTE
| Dates. | Local Time. | Latitude South. | Longitude West of Greenwich. | Temperature Centigrade. | Declina- tion. | Inclina- tion. |
| Jan. 2 | 5.30 p.m. | 69° 52′ 00″ | 85° 13′ 30″ | -1.6 | 34.22 | 68.27 |
| Jan. 7 | 9 a.m. | 69° 52′ 00″ | 85° 32′ 15″ | -2.8 | 34.21 | 68.27 |
| Jan. 14 | 12 m. | 54° 50′ 40″ | 63° 39′ 00″ | |||
| Jan. 14 | 5 p.m. | 55° 02′ 50″ | 63° 29′ 15″ | |||
| Jan. 15 | 12 m. | 55° 50′ 45″ | 63° 19′ 15″ | |||
| Jan. 16 | 12 m. | 56° 47′ 30″ | 64° 23′ 45″ | |||
| Jan. 16 | 5 p.m. | 56° 48′ 45″ | 64° 30′ 30″ | |||
| Jan. 17 | 5 p.m. | 58° 43′ 30″ | 63° 43′ 15″ | |||
| Jan. 18 | 12 m. | 59° 58′ 15″ | 63° 12′ 15″ | |||
| Jan. 19 | 12 m. | 61° 05′ 30″ | 63° 04′ 15″ | |||
| Jan. 20 | 12 m. | 62° 02′ 15″ | 61° 58′ 15″ | |||
| Jan. 20 | 4 p.m. | 62° 11′ 00″ | 61° 37′ 15″ | |||
| Jan. 23 | 12 m. | 63° 28′ 30″ | 62° 13′ 00″ | |||
| Jan. 24 | 12 m. | 64° 09′ 00″ | 62° 13′ 00″ | |||
| Jan. 25 | 10 a.m. | 64° 06′ 24″ | 61° 59′ 30″ | |||
| Jan. 25 | 3 p m. | 63° 57′ 04″ | 61° 47′ 34″ | |||
| Jan. 27 | 7 a.m. | 64° 02′ 26″ | 61° 35′ 20″ | |||
| Jan. 27 | 12 m. | 64° 09′ 00″ | 61° 35′ 20″ | |||
| Jan. 28 | 8 a.m. | 64° 22′ 45″ | 62° 02′ 15″ | |||
| Jan. 30 | 8 a.m. | 64° 31′ 15″ | 62° 21′ 45″ | |||
| Feb. 5 | 12 m. | 64° 27′ 45″ | 62° 27′ 45″ | |||
| Feb. 8 | 12 m. | 64° 38′ 00″ | 62° 27′ 45″ | |||
| Feb. 9 | 7 a.m. | 64° 47′ 15″ | 63° 29′ 25″ | |||
| Feb. 9 | 12 m. | 64° 54′ 23″ | 63° 39′ 10″ | -2. | 38.20 | 70.09 |
| Feb. 10 | 8 a.m. | 70° 33′ 45″ | 93° 17′ 00″ | -6.8 | 38.20 | 70.30 |
| 7.15 to 8 p.m. | -4.5 | 70.14 | ||||
| 8 to 8.30 p.m. | -4.5 | 70.22 | ||||
| 8 p.m. | -4.5 | 70.27 | ||||
| Feb. 11 | 9 a.m. | 65° 04′ 25″ | 63° 00′ 15″ | |||
| Feb. 12 | 10 a.m. | 65° 01′ 30″ | 63° 49′ 25″ | |||
| Feb. 16 | 12 m. | 67° 58′ 15″ | 70° 03′ 15″ | |||
| Feb. 18 | 4 p.m. | 67° 59′ 30″ | 70° 39′ 30″ | |||
| Feb. 19 | 12 m. | 69° 06′ 15″ | 78° 21′ 30″ | -0.8 | 39.16 | 70.07 |
| Feb. 22 | 9 p.m. | 69° 48′ 45″ | 81° 08′ 30″ | |||
| Feb. 23 | 12 m. | 69° 46′ 30″ | 81° 08′ 30″ | |||
| Feb. 24 | 12 m. | 69° 30′ 30″ | 81° 31′ 30″ | |||
| Feb. 25 | 3 p.m. | 69° 17′ 00″ | 82° 24′ 30″ | |||
| Feb. 26 | 12 m. | 69° 13′ 30″ | 82° 20′ 30″ | |||
| Feb. 27 | 12 m. | 69° 24′ 00″ | 84° 39′ 15″ | |||
| Feb. 27 | 5 p.m. | 69° 40′ 45″ | 84° 42′ 30″ | |||
| Feb. 28 | 12 m. | 70° 23′ 00″ | 85° 56′ 45″ | |||
| Mar. 1 | 8 a.m. | 71° 06′ 00″ | 85° 22′ 45″ | |||
| Mar. 1 | 12 m. | 71° 04′ 45″ | 85° 22′ 45″ | |||
| Mar. 1 | 4 p.m. | 71° 17′ 00″ | 85° 26′ 00″ | |||
| Mar. 2 | 12 m. | 71° 31′ 15″ | 85° 15′ 45″ | +0.6 | 40.41 | 71.17 |
| Mar. 2 | 3.30 p.m. | 97° 16′ 15″ | +0.2 | 40.32 | 71.15 | |
| Mar. 3 | 12 m. | 71° 28′ 00″ | 85° 11′ 15″ | 35.10 | ||
| Mar. 4 | 12 m. | 71° 22′ 15″ | 84° 54′ 45″ | +10.4 | 41.07 | 71.17 |
| Mar. 5 | 12 m. | 71° 19′ 00″ | 85° 28′ 30″ | |||
| Mar. 6 | 4 p.m. | 71° 18′ 30″ | 85° 34′ 45″ | -6.7 | 71.32 | |
| Mar. 7 | 12 m. | 71° 26′ 30″ | 85° 44′ 00″ | |||
| Mar. 7 | 9 p.m. | 71° 29′ 15″ | 85° 55′ 15″ | |||
| Mar. 8 | 4 p.m. | 71° 28′ 30″ | 85° 54′ 30″ | |||
| Mar. 9 | 12 m. | 71° 23′ 00″ | 85° 32′ 00″ | |||
| Mar. 11 | 12 m. | 71° 23′ 15″ | 85° 38′ 30″ | |||
| Mar. 12 | 12 m. | 71° 24′ 45″ | 85° 53′ 15″ | -12.5 | 41.47 | 71.56 |
| Mar. 13 | 12 m. | 71° 19′ 15″ | 86° 02′ 15″ | |||
| Mar. 14 | 4 p.m. | 71° 16′ 15″ | 85° 37′ 00″ | |||
| Mar. 15 | 12 m. | 70° 52′ 15″ | 85° 37′ 00″ | |||
| Mar. 20 | 3 p.m. | 71° 35′ 00″ | 88° 02′ 00″ | |||
| Mar. 23 | 12 m. | 71° 34′ 45″ | 88° 50′ 45″ | -13.2 | 38.56 | |
| Mar. 24 | 12 m. | 71° 35′ 15″ | 88° 50′ 45″ | |||
| Mar. 25 | 12 m. | 71° 24′ 15″ | 88° 32′ 00″ | |||
| Mar. 26 | 12 m. | 71° 19′ 45″ | 88° 23′ 00″ | |||
| Mar. 27 | 12 m. | 71° 16′ 30″ | 88° 23′ 00″ | |||
| Mar. 28 | 12 m. | 71° 13′ 00″ | 88° 23′ 15″ | |||
| Mar. 30 | 8 a.m. | 71° 13′ 00″ | 88° 06′ 15″ | |||
| Apr. 2 | 12 m. | 71° 09′ 30″ | 88° 06′ 15″ | |||
| Apr. 3 | 12 m. | 71° 07′ 03″ | 88° 06′ 15″ | |||
| Apr. 5 | 12 m. | 71° 04′ 15″ | 88° 06′ 15″ | |||
| Apr. 7 | 7 p.m. | 70° 54′ 45″ | 88° 42′ 00″ | |||
| Apr. 8 | 12 m. | 70° 53′ 04″ | 88° 42′ 00″ | |||
| Apr. 10 | 12 m. | 70° 52′ 04″ | 88° 42′ 00″ | |||
| Apr. 11 | 12 m. | 70° 48′ 15″ | 88° 42′ 00″ | |||
| Apr. 21 | 12 m. | 71° 03′ 18″ | 88° 42′ 00″ | |||
| Apr. 21 | 8 p.m. | 71° 02′ 00″ | 92° 03′ 15″ | |||
| Apr. 22 | 2 p.m. | |||||
| Apr. 25 | 10 p.m. | 70° 50′ 15″ | 92° 21′ 30″ | -24.5 | 36.51 | |
| Apr. 26 | 8 a.m. | |||||
| Apr. 30 | 10 p.m. | 70° 43′ 30″ | 90° 30′ 45″ | |||
| May 4 | 7 a.m. | 70° 33′ 30″ | 89° 22′ 00″ | |||
| May 5 | 11 a.m. | |||||
| May 10 | 11 a.m. | |||||
| May 16 | 4 p.m. | 71° 34′ 30″ | 89° 10′ 00″ | |||
| May 17 | 7 p.m. | 71° 22′ 00″ | 88° 39′ 49″ | |||
| May 18 | 8 p.m. | 71° 17′ 45″ | 88° 02′ 15″ | |||
| May 20 | 7 p.m. | 71° 15′ 45″ | 87° 38′ 15″ | |||
| May 21 | 8 p.m. | 71° 15′ 15″ | 87° 26′ 30″ | |||
| May 25 | 7 p.m. | 71° 13′ 15″ | 87° 44′ 00″ | |||
| May 26 | 11 a.m. | |||||
| May 26 | 7 p.m. | 71° 15′ 00″ | 87° 39′ 15″ | |||
| May 29 | 7 p.m. | 71° 23′ 45″ | 87° 35′ 00″ | -25. | 70.07 | |
| May 31 | 7 a.m. | 71° 36′ 00″ | 87° 38′ 30″ | - 9. | 70.14 | |
| June 1 | 7 p.m. | 71° 25′ 15″ | 86° 55′ 15″ | |||
| June 2 | 10.30 a.m. | 71° 25′ 15″ | 86° 55′ 15″ | -28.1 | 69.38 | |
| June 3 | 7 p.m. | 71° 23′ 00″ | 87° 22′ 15″ | -27.4 | 69.18 | |
| June 7 | 7 p.m. | 71° 23′ 30″ | 86° 55′ 15″ | |||
| June 8 | 7 p.m. | 71° 21′ 30″ | 87° 50′ 00″ | |||
| June 10 | 7 p.m. | 71° 20′ 00″ | 87° 16′ 00″ | |||
| June 14 | 5 p.m. | 71° 04′ 00″ | 86° 03′ 00″ | -27.1 | 35.34 | 69.02 |
| June 15 | 9 p.m. | 71° 04′ 00″ | 86° 36′ 45″ | |||
| June 22 | 8 a.m. | 70° 56′ 15″ | 83° 30′ 15″ | -27.2 | 34.04 | 68.09 |
| June 22 | 8 p.m. | 70° 56′ 15″ | 83° 30′ 00″ | |||
| June 23 | 7 p.m. | 70° 47′ 45″ | 83° 43′ 45″ | |||
| July 7 | 11 p.m. | 70° 51′ 00″ | 86° 47′ 15″ | |||
| July 8 | 9 p.m. | 70° 48′ 30″ | 87° 14′ 00″ | |||
| July 9 | 9 p.m. | 70° 54′ 15″ | 88° 19′ 00″ | -32.6 | 37.04 | 69.15 |
| July 21 | 3 p.m. | 70° 35′ 15″ | 86° 34′ 15″ | -29.3 | 35.38 | 69.23 |
| Aug. 10 | 7 p.m. | 70° 52′ 30″ | 86° 33′ 30″ | |||
| Aug. 19 | 7 p.m. | 70° 26′ 00″ | 84° 26′ 15″ | |||
| Aug. 20 | 6 p.m. | 70° 72′ 15″ | 84° 03′ 30″ | |||
| Aug. 22 | 6 p.m. | 70° 09′ 15″ | 83° 41′ 15″ | |||
| Aug. 24 | 6 p.m. | 70° 15′ 30″ | 83° 15′ 15″ | |||
| Aug. 26 | 7 p.m. | 70° 16′ 00″ | 83° 15′ 00″ | |||
| Aug. 27 | 12 m. | 70° 16′ 00″ | 83° 15′ 00″ | |||
| Aug. 29 | 7 p.m. | 70° 13′ 15″ | 83° 26′ 45″ | |||
| Aug. 31 | 7 p.m. | 70° 04′ 30″ | 83° 06′ 30″ | |||
| Sept. 2 | 7 p.m. | 70° 00′ 15″ | 82° 45′ 00″ | -23. | 33.13 | 68.38 |
| Sept. 2 | 8.40 p.m. | 70° 00′ 15″ | -23.5 | 33.19 | 67.16 | |
| Sept. 3 | 11 a.m. | 69° 58′ 45″ | 82° 38′ 45″ | -15.6 | 33.28 | 67.52 |
| Sept. 4 | 2 to 3 p.m. | - 20.5 | 68.09 | |||
| 3 p.m. | -20.5 | 68.07 | ||||
| 4.30 p.m. | -20.3 | 67.45 | ||||
| Sept. 5 | 7 p.m. | 69° 59′ 16″ | 82° 43′ 45″ | |||
| Sept. 7 | 12 m. | 69° 53′ 45″ | ||||
| Sept. 7 | 7 p.m. | 69° 54′ 00″ | 82° 35′ 15″ | -33.3 | 33.06 | 67.45 |
| Sept. 8 | 7 p.m. | 69° 53′ 45″ | 82° 38′ 30″ | |||
| Sept. 9 | 7 p.m. | 69° 51′ 00″ | 82° 36′ 15″ | -38.5 | 33.11 | 68.23 |
| Sept. 9 | 4.30 p.m. | - 32.2 | 68.16 | |||
| Sept. 10 | 7 p.m. | 69° 51′ 45″ | 82° 40′ 45″ | |||
| Sept. 11 | 12 m. | 69° 51′ 30″ | 32° 40′ 45″ | |||
| Sept. 13 | 7 p.m. | 69° 50′ 15″ | 83° 03′ 00″ | -32.7 | 33.17 | 67.58 |
| Sept. 14 | 1 p.m. | 69° 53′ 00″ | 83° 03′ 30″ | |||
| Sept. 14 | 6 p.m. | 69° 55′ 30″ | 83° 04′ 15″ | |||
| Sept. 16 | 7 p.m. | 69° 51′ 15″ | 82° 22′ 45″ | |||
| Sept. 22 | 3 p.m. | 70° 22′ 45″ | 82° 31′ 00″ | -4.8 | 33.40 | 68.13 |
| Sept. 23 | 4 p.m. | 70° 24′ 30″ | 82° 37′ 00″ | -13.1 | 33.45 | 67.56 |
| Sept. 26 | 12 m. | 70° 21′ 15″ | 82° 52′ 15″ | -15.2 | 33.58 | 68.06 |
| Sept. 26 | 3.45 p.m. | -15.2 | 68.07 | |||
| Sept. 29 | 12 m. | 70° 21′ 00″ | 82° 39′ 00″ | -21.5 | 33.45 | 68.10 |
| 2.30 to 3.30 p.m. | -18.1 | 68.22 | ||||
| Oct. 6 | 12 m. | 70° 38′ 30″ | 82° 39′ 00″ | |||
| Oct. 7 | 12 m. | 70° 30′ 30″ | 82° 48′ 00″ | -14.5 | 33.42 | 68.20 |
| Oct. 8 | 12 m. | 70° 23′ 30″ | 82° 46′ 45″ | -15.1 | 33.12 | 68.17 |
| Oct. 10 | 12 m. | 70° 09′ 15″ | 82° 42′ 30″ | -6.2 | 33.29 | 68.02 |
| Oct. 16 | 12 m. | 69° 59′ 00″ | 80° 54′ 15″ | -6.0 | 33.16 | 67.40 |
| Oct. 19 | 5 p.m. | 70° 01′ 30″ | 80° 44′ 45″ | |||
| Oct. 20 | 12 m. | 70° 00′ 30″ | 80° 44′ 45″ | |||
| Oct. 21 | 12 m. | 69° 56′ 15″ | 80° 44′ 45″ | |||
| Oct. 22 | 8 a.m. | 69° 55′ 00″ | 80° 31′ 00″ | -16. | 32.11 | 67.22 |
| Oct. 23 | 12 m. | 69° 50′ 15″ | ||||
| Oct. 24 | 12 m. | 69° 43′ 00″ | 80° 50′ 30″ | -19.3 | 32.00 | 67.32 |
| Oct. 25 | 12 m. | 69° 38′ 45″ | 80° 36′ 30″ | -19.8 | 31.55 | 67.13 |
| Oct. 28 | 12 m. | 69° 39′ 30″ | 80° 36′ 30″ | |||
| Oct. 29 | 12 m. | 69° 38′ 00″ | 80° 35′ 30″ | -15.7 | 31.50 | 67.37 |
| 11 a.m. | -12.0 | 67.22 | ||||
| Oct. 30 | 12 m. | 69° 44′ 45″ | 80° 35′ 30″ | |||
| Nov. 2 | 12 m. | 69° 51′ 00″ | 81° 26′ 00″ | -13.0 | 32.21 | 68.22 |
| Nov. 2 | 4 p.m. | 69° 51′ 15″ | 81° 23′ 45″ | |||
| Nov. 3 | 12 m. | 69° 48′ 15″ | 81° 19′ 00″ | |||
| Nov. 3 | 5 p.m. | 69° 47′ 00″ | 81° 20′ 00″ | |||
| Nov. 5 | 12 m. | 69° 48′ 30″ | 81° 20′ 00″ | |||
| Nov. 5 | 5 p.m. | 69° 44′ 00″ | 81° 28′ 15″ | |||
| Nov. 10 | 5 p.m. | 70° 09′ 00″ | 82° 35′ 15″ | -13.0 | 32.21 | 68.17 |
| Nov. 17 | 12 m. | 70° 05′ 30″ | 82° 35′ 15″ | |||
| Nov. 20 | 4 p.m. | 70° 06′ 00″ | 82° 30′ 30″ | -4.2 | 33.03 | 68.07 |
| Nov. 25 | 12 m. | 70° 25′ 00″ | 83° 27′ 00″ | -2.7 | 33.39 | 68.40 |
| Nov. 26 | 12 m. | 70° 23′ 30″ | 83° 27′ 00″ | |||
| Nov. 28 | 5 p.m. | 70° 19′ 45″ | 83° 23′ 15″ | -2.4 | 33.46 | 68.20 |
| Dec. 2 | 6 p.m. | 70° 18′ 00″ | 83° 33′ 15″ | |||
| Dec. 6 | 12 m. | 69° 54′ 00″ | 83° 33′ 15″ | |||
| Dec. 7 | 6 p.m. | 69° 51′ 30″ | 82° 48′ 45″ | |||
| Dec. 9 | 5.45 p.m. | 69° 50′ 30″ | 82° 45′ 00″ | -1.9 | 32.51 | 67.40 |
| Dec. 12 | 5.40 p.m. | 69° 49′ 15″ | 82° 46′ 45″ | -3.1 | 32.53 | 67.52 |
| Dec. 20 | 4.30 p.m. | 70° 15′ 00″ | 84° 06′ 15″ | -1.4 | 34.19 | 68.26 |
| Dec. 22 | 5 p.m. | 70° 18′ 30″ | 84° 51′ 00″ | -0.9 | 68.41 | |
| Dec. 27 | 4.25 p.m. | 70° 20′ 15″ | 85° 52′ 00″ | +2.7 | 34.30 | 68.31 |
| Dec. 29 | 5.30 p.m. | 70° 15′ 00″ | 85° 51′ 15″ | +0.3 | 34.43 | 68.35 |
| Dec. 31 | 5.30 p.m. | 70° 01′ 30″ | 85° 20′ 15″ | -2.5 | 34.19 | 68.32 |
Appendix No. V
THE NAVIGATION OF THE ANTARCTIC ICE-PACK
BY
ROALD AMUNDSEN
Profiting by the accumulated experience of centuries, the arctic explorers of our day have succeeded in obtaining splendid results. Upon the lessons drawn from the experiences of the ill-fated Jeannette expedition, Nansen, to a great extent, built his plan of drifting across the polar sea. The construction of the Fram also was based upon observations made through ages. Peary is now, with unshaken energy, step by step working his way towards the north pole. Here, what aid and support does he not derive from his predecessors, the English expedition under Nares, of 1875–76, and especially from the expedition of his countryman Greely, of 1881–84, which came to such a tragic end, but which now affords the daring arctic explorer the most valuable assistance by the depot established at Fort Conger and Lady Franklin Bay! And Nature herself lends a helping hand in always leaving the line of retreat open to the arctic explorer.
The antarctic explorer, however, is forced to work under far less favourable conditions. Earlier expeditions have, indeed, tried to penetrate far south, but without leaving any material sources of help for their successors. The honour of the earliest acquaintance with the antarctic region belongs to James Cook, who, in 1774, reached as far as to 70° 10′ south latitude, where a stop was put to his progress by compact ice. In 1823 Weddell reached 74° 15′ south latitude, and in 1842 James Clark Ross made the record of farthest south when he arrived at 78° 9′ 5″ south latitude, which, as far as we know, still remains the southernmost point that has been reached.
The unexplored region around the north pole only constitutes about five million square kilometres; that around the south pole amounts to between twenty-one and twenty-two million square kilometres, or a tract of land corresponding to more than double the size of Europe.
While we have already learned about the arctic winter from the Dutchman William Barents, who passed the winter of 1596 in Nova Zembla, and from many subsequent explorers, the antarctic winter up to our time has remained but a fable. It was the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, led by the Belgian, Lieutenant Adrien de Gerlache, that brought the first information about the south polar night, after spending the winter in the antarctic pack-ice west of Grahamland in 1898–99.
Taking part in this expedition, I had daily opportunities to survey and study the ice which for nearly thirteen months formed our surroundings. It would be premature to pronounce a decided opinion as to the best way of navigating throughout the entire antarctic region according to the observations here made. In order to do that it would be necessary to have a thorough knowledge of the state of the ice in various places. The knowledge which Ross, and subsequently Kristensen, gained of the pack-ice north and east of South Victorialand, was widely different from that acquired by us of the ice west of Grahamland. Therefore, when I state my opinion below as to navigation in the antarctic ice, I do so with specific regard to the ice which stopped our progress and held us prisoners for such a long period of time.
Here it is, from the very start, quite evident to the antarctic explorer that he incurs a great risk by attacking the ice. To the south, as far as the eye can survey, he sees nothing but ice, and by experience he knows that he has to contend with a frozen ocean, agitated by storm. If his vessel should by chance be hemmed in, and possibly crushed by the ice, what ways of escape would there be open to him? The possibility of reaching land in small, open boats he certainly does not consider very great. The chance of finding human beings on new land possibly to be discovered farther south, cut off from the rest of the world by immense masses of ice, appears to be even less probable. This is, I suppose, the reason why earlier explorers have not dared to attack the ice in these regions.
It was a north-easterly gale that, on the 28th of February, 1898, forced us through the ice. Comparing this ice with that which I came across on my sealing expeditions in the arctic seas on the eastern coast of Greenland, the difference was at once apparent. While we find in the arctic ice channels and lakes several miles in length, formed by the rapid currents prevailing there, in the antarctic ice we do not find any signs of similar formations. The spaces which we found here were intermediate spaces between each separate floe of ice, broken up by the storm and carried away from its original position.
What, above all, struck me after being imprisoned in the antarctic ice was the “indolence” of the ice—that is to say, its stagnation or indisposition to move within its own bounds. That the entire main body of the ice was in lively motion soon became evident from the nautical observations, but the movements within its compass were very slight. The cause of this lack of local movement of the ice may, no doubt, be traced to the nature of the current. That currents exist here, as everywhere, is not to be doubted, but they must be very insignificant, and are surely without any importance to navigation.
From the month of December, 1898, up to March, 1899, easterly winds were predominating, and these caused a very considerable drifting of the ice. In the course of these three months we drifted in this way from about 87° longitude west of Greenwich as far as to 103°, or a distance of about 950 kilometres (this distance is calculated in a straight line on the seventy-first parallel circle). That this easterly wind, which prevailed for such a length of time and mostly with great violence, was no local wind, we can safely assume. Its place of origin was no doubt the regions around Grahamland and Alexander Islands. This gives me further cause to believe that the sea along the western coast of these countries was perfectly navigable during the months of February and March, 1899. But there is no reason whatever to suppose that this is the case every year. On the contrary, previous expeditions have always found this part of the antarctic drift-ice completely closed. We, on board of the Belgica in February, 1898, also found within the drift-ice along these countries absolutely no navigable water. If a future expedition were to choose the same region where the Belgica did its work for a field of investigation, my unqualified advice to it would be to linger for some time near the coast of these countries, awaiting a separation of the ice from the land. What a great advantage there would be in navigating alongshore! Possibly harbours might be discovered, stations built, and depots established, and one would then always have something to depend on. During our drift in the ice we never dared venture on foot so far out as to lose sight of our ship. It would be wholly different if there were regular stations from which to start the work. We could then safely proceed southward with a sleigh-boat and possibly accomplish fine results, for the antarctic ice, compared to the arctic ice which I have had a chance to observe, is much more level and even, and consequently easier to traverse.
I see a great advantage in having two vessels, but in that case it is necessary that both of them should be exactly on the same level in regard to power and outfit, as, in my opinion, the idea of taking along a so-called “auxiliary vessel,” which in some respect or other is inferior to the principal ship, is to be entirely rejected. The principal ship, in that case, might sometimes have to perform the duty of a tugboat and take the auxiliary vessel in tow. In order that two vessels of this kind should be able to make any headway in the drift-ice, they would always have to be within sight of each other, and one of them being inferior to the other, it is easy to understand that it would be more of a hindrance than a help. It would be altogether different if we could start our work from regular stations. Then one vessel might be stationed on the coast as a reserve ship while the other pressed onward; but as long as our knowledge of the antarctic regions remains so insignificant as at present, we must, in order to work with expectation of success, employ only first-class equipment, which by experience has been proved effective.
The Belgica entering the antarctic pack-ice was the first ship to make the venture on this side of the globe. Almost nothing was previously known about the character of the ice of this region. Now the situation is entirely changed.
The ice has been tried and examined, and observations have been made which may prove of invaluable service to future expeditions.
Appendix No. VI
THE POSSIBILITIES OF ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION
BY
FREDERICK A. COOK, M. D.
The heterogeneous branches of human knowledge are so intimately interwoven that it is hard to conceive an improvement in one which does not conduce to the advantage of others. The modes of association which exist between the numerous objects of mental and physical research are like the membranes which embrace the humours of the eye, so minute and transparent that, while they give union and solidity to the whole, they themselves remain unperceived or wholly invisible. The general advancement in the knowledge of our globe, which follows the work of polar exploration, is not at first perceived. The collective results are rearranged and interwoven with the other threads which go to make up the fabric of the various branches of natural science. Around the two poles of the earth, and particularly around the south pole, there are extensive unknown regions. In these regions are hidden the finishing filaments of much exact knowledge. To seek these is the true object of polar exploration.
Efforts at clearing up the mysteries of the arctic will now for a time give place to projects for antarctic research. The disputed questions, bearing upon the value of such enterprises, have been answered in the affirmative by the Belgian, the British, and the German governments. Each of these governments has contributed large funds, not to find the south pole, but to gather the ends of the threads of science which are there lost in white obscurity.
The possibilities of exploration in the far south are many, and properly to understand them we must first review the regions actually known. Perhaps it is not correct to say that anything antarctic is actually known. Almost the entire space beyond the polar circle, with the exception of a few dotted lines, is a blank upon our charts. Even the sub-antarctic lands, like Tierra del Fuego, Kerguelen, and the Auckland Islands, are for scientific purposes unknown. Of the truly antarctic lands the first in time of discovery and in value is the always accessible land-mass south of the South Shetland Islands, which is erroneously charted Grahamland.
This is a large mass of land which is labelled on the various charts with different names, and is parcelled out to suit the nationality of the chart-makers. No navigator will be able to recognise the landmarks of Grahamland from any modern chart. This was the experience of the Belgica. The American sealer, Palmer, first saw the northern outline of this land. The British sealer, Biscoe, saw a part of the western border of the same land. But neither Palmer nor Biscoe has given sufficient information to make a chart. The British explorer, James Ross, and the French explorer, d’Urville, touched along the north-eastern limits, and recently the Norwegian sealer, Larsen, has traced a part of the eastern limits. From the work of later explorers, and the guesses of the early sealers, the present map is constructed. But since the Belgica sailed over two hundred miles of this region where high land was placed, and since she sailed over the regions where the Biscoe Islands are placed, it is evident that even this, which is the best known of the antarctic lands, needs a general re-discovery.
The actual existence of a land, corresponding to what is charted as Grahamland, is a matter of considerable doubt. On the map it extends from the sixty-ninth parallel of latitude northward four hundred miles. Alexander I. Land, which makes the southern termination of this, is a group of islands, and we saw no land eastward. The character of the land which may or may not exist between this and the newly discovered Belgica Strait is questionable. It may be a continuous land, but, from the large indentations which we saw, it is quite as likely to be an archipelago. The possibilities of future exploration in this region are very great. The country is easy of access, and has an abundance of bays and channels, which will afford shelter to exploring vessels. It offers scientific and commercial prospects promised by no other new polar region.
Following the polar circle from Grahamland eastward, the next land is Enderbyland. Ten degrees farther another line is put down and named Kempland. Enderbyland was reported by Captain Biscoe in 1831. The pack-ice was so closely set around the land that Biscoe was not able to debark or approach within twenty-five miles. So far as we know, he saw but one headland to distinguish the land from an iceberg.
Kempland was also inaccessible, and Captain Kemp, the British sealer who discovered it, gave on his return only a verbal report. Captain Morrell, an American sealer, but a few years previous sailed over an ice-strewn sea about fifty miles south of both Enderbyland and Kempland without seeing anything resembling land. This makes it extremely probable that neither Enderbyland nor Kempland is a large mass connected with any other land. The geographical problems which seem to be indicated here are: Is this an archipelago, like the Palmer Archipelago, fronting a higher and more continuous country or continent? Or is it an isolated group of islands? An expedition devoted to this object and this only would add certain and unique records to geographic and all other sciences.
Following the polar circle still farther to 100° of east longitude, and close to the circle, there is another interruption in the unknown. This is the much-disputed Wilkesland. It is by far the largest land-mass in the entire antarctic area. The land, including Victorialand, its better-known eastern border, occupies more than one sixth of the circumference of the globe. It covers more degrees of longitude than the entire spread of the United States. In a territory of this extent, even under the most hopeless spread of snow, would it not be strange if something of value and much of interest were not found? It is not at all probable that the disconnected lines seen by Wilkes are a continuous line of the continent. These are, very likely, off-lying islands which front a great continent. We are led into the conviction that there is a continent here by the very great number and the enormous size of the icebergs which were here encountered. But this conviction without better evidence will not, and ought not to, satisfy explorers. Wilkes made his voyage of exploration in small vessels which were not specially strengthened for ice work. If he was able to approach the coast in ordinary ships, a vessel fitted for ice navigation will certainly be able to get nearer and bring back more definite results.
From Victorialand to Grahamland there is but one spot to interrupt the movement of the great sea of restless ice. This is Peter Island. It was discovered by the Russian explorer, Bellingshausen, in 1821, and it has not been seen since. The Belgica, in her year’s drift, came close to the assigned position, but we saw no indications of land. It would be interesting to know if this island really exists, and if it is not a part of another small archipelago.
Before passing from the known to the possibilities of the unknown, I will answer the business man’s question: “To whom do these lands belong?” It seems to me that the nations seeking to divide China and Africa might turn their ambitions briefly towards the antarctic. Here are millions of square miles which belong to nobody; at least, there are no valid claims filed, except those which accrue from the right of discovery. Victorialand would seem to belong to England, but it is possible for the United States to lay a strong claim by right of extension of territory. Wilkes, the American explorer, was the first to see and to chart the great masses of land of which Victorialand is a part. The work of Ross, though better in quality, is supplementary to that of Wilkes, which gives the United States a priority claim. There is also a small French claim. There is indeed room for a future boundary dispute of the limits and claims of the Americans, English, and French in Wilkesland. The British Government seems to have no doubt on this question, for twelve years ago the Queen issued a grant for Possession Island, making Mr. Albert McCormick Davis, of Montreal, colonial governor of its numerous cities of penguins, and giving him for a stipulated period a monopoly of its guano-beds. Mr. Davis never rose to the dignity of being the first south polar king. He was content with the honours of appointment, and returned his credentials three months after their issue.
Peter and Alexander islands, and one or two islands of the Sandwich group, belong to Russia. The Bellany and Biscoe and Sandwich groups, as well as Enderbyland and Kempland, belong to Great Britain. Grahamland, like Wilkesland, offers many bones of contention. The entire northern coast should belong to the United States. A part of the eastern coast, and a part of the still uncharted western coast, belong to England. Norway has a claim for about two hundred miles on the eastern coast. The recent discoveries of the Belgica give to Belgium the most beautiful and the most useful body of water in the entire antarctic area. In the adjustment of these various claims there is no end of trouble in store.
It is generally held that all these countries belong to nobody—indeed, that they are not worthy of ownership; but this is not true. The issue of a grant for Possession Island is an indication of the sentiment in England; another indication is to be perceived in an incident which happened a few years ago. The Argentine Government, being anxious to secure possession of the South Shetland Islands, aiming probably to control the harbours and the possible fisheries, made some preparation to place there a lighthouse and thus take possession by right of prior occupation. In response to this, according to a rumour said to have been based on official instruction, a British cruiser was ordered to speed, as soon as the Argentine steamer left port, to the South Shetlands and there to receive the Argentinos. The long period which has elapsed since the discovery of everything antarctic weakens the natural claims, and any one who now takes the trouble to occupy any portion of it would undoubtedly become the owner. The man who sits on the southern ice, under the hellish antarctic storms, long enough to make good his deed, deserves all there is under him, even if it proves a Klondike.
I must beg leave to differ with the prevailing opinion, regarding polar exploration, that there is no commercial or material reward commensurate with the expenditure of time and money. In the antarctic there are several prospective industries, and much of the future work has a direct bearing upon commerce. There are seals, penguins, and whales in abundance around the circumpolar area. Every rock which offers an accessible beach is covered with either seals or penguins, and every channel of open water between the pack-ice or around the ice-sheltered lands is alive with whales. Fur-seals were at one time so numerous that a whole fleet of American sealers were engaged in the hunt; but the fur-seals are now nearly extinct. The several varieties of antarctic seals have a coarse coat of single hair which is useless as a fur; but the skin and oil are of considerable value. There is no reason why a profitable fishery could not be prosecuted, like that off the coast of Labrador and Greenland. The penguins are not widely known to commerce, but their countless millions will surely attract enterprise and yield some useful product. Already they are being taken at the Falkland Islands for the oil they possess. We must abandon the hope that right whales, possessing the prized whalebone, exist here in numbers sufficient to warrant a promise of future whaling. Ross reports having seen right whales, but a diligent search since has failed to confirm this report. From the Belgica we saw no whales of this variety, but finback and bottlenose whales were seen in great numbers. These are small whales having no bone of commercial value, and a somewhat inferior quality of oil. But the hunt for a similar variety of whales in Norway has given profitable employment to thousands of men in the past ten years. Whaling and sealing in the antarctic cannot, however, be made to pay the enormous expense of fitting out from Europe and North America for so distant a hunting-ground. To make these industries successful, permanent bases must be established either in the antarctic, on the sub-antarctic islands, or in the southern parts of South America or Australia.
The guano-beds of Possession Island offer an enterprise which seems to promise certain results. The guano is rich in nitrates, and exists in quantities sufficient to keep a fleet of cargo-vessels occupied for years. There are strong possibilities of the existence of hundreds of other islands within the area of the unknown, loaded with a similar or even a greater weight of the fertiliser. Such islands may be found in more accessible places, outside of the pack-ice, off the coast of Grahamland, or among the partly known groups such as the South Shetland, Bouvet, Prince Edward, or Macquarie islands.
The future for fisheries and guano industries has an appearance of reasonable certainty, but this is not true of the possible mineral wealth or of other revenue-bearing material which may be hidden behind the icy gates. Our geological knowledge of this area is still too imperfect to offer even a guess of the probable finds of precious metals or gems. Arguing by analogy, the South Shetlands in general appearance, and what little is known of the geological formation, resemble Tierra del Fuego, and we now know that gold is here found in paying quantities. Since these islands are an extension of the Fuegian lands, is it unreasonable to expect to find gold here? An antarctic Alaska is by no means beyond the future possibilities.
Are there not people or unknown animals in the regions around the south pole? Novelists have pictured this mysterious region since the time of Dalrymple, in 1760, with curious races of people and strange forms of animal life. It is the last unexplored expanse on the globe of sufficient area to offer room for fictitious creations of new worlds, and it will continue to be a special domain for imaginative writers for many years. From the explorations thus far, we have no reason to hope for any startling discoveries of human or other animal life. Borchgrevink, owing to his inexperience and hasty conclusions, mistook ordinary penguin tracks for the footprints of some large and unknown animal. No reliable traces of either large new animals or human beings have been found. The regions are, as homes for adapted people, far superior to the arctic lands, where the Eskimos periodically starve or live in blubbery abundance. If sailors or wild people were cast adrift on the antarctic shores they would not necessarily starve. There is food and fuel, and even clothing, to be had from the seals and penguins everywhere. The life would not be full of comforts, if measured by our standards, but compared to Eskimo existence there is a decided advantage in life-sustaining prospects of the southern pole—not in climate or in the degrees of cold, but in the certainty of food. People then, if they once find a foothold, might easily thrive, but to the present we have found but one doubtful sign. This was reported by Captain Larsen, the Norwegian sealer, in 1893. Larsen found about fifty clay balls, perched on pillars of the same material, on Seymour Island, off the eastern coast of Grahamland. “These,” said Larsen, “had the appearance of having been made by human hand.”
There is one train of industries for which the antarctic and sub-antarctic regions offer the best conditions of the globe. This is the farming of fur-bearing animals. It is an industry which is still in its infancy, but the recent experiments upon the barren Alaskan islands have been eminently successful. There are thousands of isolated islands in the southern oceans which offer just the conditions for the cultivation of such life. These islands, though almost barren of vegetable life, are fertile with birds and seals and smaller forms of marine life, which will offer food to prospective generations of transplanted animals. So far as I know, this is a new suggestion to the future south polar possibilities, but the conditions which I have seen are too favourable to be ignored. The antarctic lands lie isolated in a deserted and frozen sea. The drift-ice and the overland mass of glacial ice bar the passage to adventurous travellers who seek to penetrate the mysteries of the frozen south. But it is just these barriers which fence the “land of promise” for the coming fur-farmer, who is to take the place of the life-destroying hunter. I am sure that in the near future these wild wastes of the antarctic, with their million of bird-inhabited islands, will form an island empire of thrifty fur-farmers. What nation shall guard the interests of this coming race of hardy pioneers?
Independent of material results, a continued exploration of the antarctic will certainly disclose priceless scientific acquisitions. A region of the globe nearly eight million square miles in extent, into which the foot of man has not yet trodden, is not likely to prove barren of scientific data. The polar question is not a problem of adventure, as it is ordinarily thought to be, nor is it a matter of dollars and cents. It is a problem of science, and has for its principal objects an exact knowledge of the limits of land and water; a careful study of the physical condition of the earth and of the life; in short, it aims at perfecting that network of lines with which comparative science seeks to surround our planet even at the poles. The prosecution of this labour will add to our knowledge of the physical laws which regulate climates, which indicate the origin and destiny of atmospheric and sea currents, and which serve as analogies for geology and other natural sciences. The Gulf Stream was discovered by a study of polar phenomena. Our present knowledge of the glacial system, which, at some distant time, covered not only the poles, but the lands we now inhabit, would not have been conceivable without a knowledge of the present polar ice. Who will say that new gems will not be added to the annals of science by antarctic explorers?
Specifically, terrestrial magnetism, geography, meteorology, geology, and oceanography are to be most enriched by the results of far southern exploration. Magnetism has an important bearing upon the navigation of the southern hemisphere, and even upon the land surveys. If the bearings of the compass cannot be accurately deduced, evidently the course of a ship or the base-line or fixed point of a survey must be unreliable. For greater accuracy of the all-important compass, more continued and more prolonged magnetic observations in various parts of the antarctic are indispensable. Even the seemingly simple task of fixing by calculation the location of the south magnetic pole is, with our present knowledge, impossible. The positions assigned by the best authorities differ several hundred miles from each other, and the work of the Belgica placed it approximately two hundred miles east of the spot designated by Ross, whose observations have been generally accepted.
Closely associated with the magnetic pole is the mysterious phenomenon, the aurora australis. It would be interesting to have a prolonged series of auroral observations to add to the first records taken by the Belgica. Perhaps this information would help to solve the puzzling questions of the physical character and the origin of the mysterious celestial lights. Some of these questions are: What is the difference between the aurora australis and the aurora borealis? Is there any coincidence in the appearance of the phenomena at both poles? What is the relation of the exhibits with the sun-spots? What relation have auroras with meteorological phenomena—the weather, the clouds, the atmospheric electricity? What are the connections between auroras, earth-magnetism, and telluric currents?
The geographical possibilities have been indicated in our discussion of the known lands. It would be interesting to know if the various traces of land, so close to the polar circle, are or are not connected to form one large continent. What are the physical conditions of this great unknown area of land or sea? Geographically, this is the only remaining unknown expanse of our globe where great discoveries may be expected.
The interior south polar lands are likely to prove the coldest part of the earth. This is contrary to what might be expected, because the great circular sea which surrounds the entire globe should warm the comparatively small expanse of land. In the region of the Belgica’s drift, however, the indications were otherwise. Our position was in a restless sea of ice, far from land, with large open lanes of water constantly about us. It follows, then, that we should have had a mild marine climate. But our temperatures were persistently low, from -5° to -45° C., rarely above the freezing-point. And, following southerly winds, the mercury at once sank into the bulb. The suddenness and intensity of cold which came with interior winds bespeaks a very high and a very cold area. This question and a hundred others will be solved by meteorological studies. Problems of weather are associated with neighbouring phenomena. For the proper understanding of the climate of the southern hemisphere there is necessary a long-continued series of meteorological studies within the limits of perpetual ice.
In geology nearly everything remains to be done. Here are indications of some very interesting problems. Among them are the numerous open questions of the great ice age. In the period immediately preceding the ice age the polar regions were not, as they are now, submerged under a continental sea of ice, but had a somewhat profuse growth of plants, extending even to the base of the mountain glaciers. The fossil remains which have been found in the north and in the south prove that at this time there existed, among these growths, plants which are now found only in subtropical regions. This period was a noteworthy epoch in the history of our planet. It was the time when man first appeared, and it was the time when the earth was dressed in her best mantles. The continents then had a greater extension, the life a curious diversity, and the forests were much more luxuriant than they are to-day. The antarctic is likely to throw new light upon this interesting period. The fossil finds may establish the previous existence of a life of which we now have no indication. In the many departments of geology we may expect startling discoveries.
To zoology the south offers less flowery prospects than to the other sciences. The study of the organic life is important for the understanding of the earlier life of our planet, but some of this has been gathered. The work which remains to be done is the detail of anatomy and physiology and the study of microscopical forms of life. It is not probable that there remain large animals of which we have found no traces.
Probably the most important results of immediate practical use to both science and commerce, will be the gain to the newly born science, oceanography. The ever-increasing usefulness of the ocean for the needs of modern commerce or warfare, of cable service, and as a nursery for food, makes it necessary that we know as much as possible about it. We must know not only the surface, but the bottom and intermediate waters. We must know not only the warm seas, but the cold as well. There is a constant interchange between the water of the tropics and that of the poles, just as there is an interchange of the winds. The cold, ice-laden waters have a tendency to flow into the warmer regions. The overheated torrid waters flow poleward. This is the theory, and in part it is supported by observation; but what is the mechanism?
It is evident that the missing keystones to the rising arches of science are many, and the material for some of these will certainly be found in the neglected blank around the under-surface of our globe. The reasonable certainty of these results is likely to arouse a south polar enthusiasm within a few years, and in anticipation of this I wish to offer a preliminary word of warning. Up to the present, antarctic history has to record no great loss of life, no awful calamities, like the arctic tragedies. If due precaution is taken, none should be reported. The arctic and the antarctic are alike only in degrees of cold and in the quantities of ice. Even in these they differ somewhat, and in every other respect there is little resemblance. From this it follows that an antarctic explorer should be differently equipped from the man who travels in the far north. The hopeless isolation and impossibility of retreat make a fixed outline, a permanent station, and strong vessels imperative.
Should an expedition risk their fortunes, as did the crew of the Belgica, in a single vessel, and in the unknown drift lose their ship, which is always possible, the disaster would mean certain death for nearly everybody. It is true that the Belgica experienced no great damage by pressure, but that we escaped with our vessel is a matter due quite as much to accident as to any wisely prompted construction of the ship. If a field of ice two miles in diameter should press upon any vessel in the wrong situation, it would certainly crush her. This is always to be expected in antarctic navigation, and it makes a companion ship desirable. The south, also, is a hard school for explorers. Young men who wish to engage in this work should take their schooling in the more congenial arctic regions.
From what we saw of the antarctic lands south of Cape Horn, it is clear that the previously conceived impossibility of landing on south polar lands is a misconception. The Belgica made twenty debarkments, and it was discovered that it was possible to land on nearly every island and neck of land offering a projecting northerly exposure. From the experiences of the Belgica it would seem that a permanent base of operations might be established far south, either in Weddell or in Ross Sea. These are the only regions offering a promising route to the south pole. The possibilities of reaching it will depend upon the character of the inland ice. If it is a smooth, even surface, without mountain ridges or extensive crevasses, such as the interior of Greenland, and if this land ice extends to the pole, then it is within the power of man, with present means, to tread on the spot; but if it is otherwise, then there is only a small prospect of reaching the southern axis.
In the future exploration of the south polar regions there is the prospect of universal association which has long been the golden dream of science. Indeed, just at present such international alliances are the topics of the hour. The final filaments of the fabric which will bind together the three greatest nations of the earth are being spun. It is not a triple alliance in an ordinary sense; it is one of the products of the evolution of nations. It is a natural selection of the three peoples best fitted for each other. England, Germany, and the United States are, at present, held together by a sort of matrimonial bond, and this bond must be strengthened. Could there be a more fitting seal to this family union than a triple alliance to explore the last great unknown area of the globe? England and Germany are organising expeditions. Will Americans, who have carried the Stars and Stripes to the farthest reaches of the earth, stand aloof and look on? If we are to have a well-equipped expedition, ready to work with England and Germany, some merchant king must come to our rescue. The present government indications are not favourable to such a venture, but with the liberal hand of a Bennett, a Harmsworth, or a Jessup, we could work hand in hand with the subjects of the Queen and the Kaiser. The combined armies of peace could, in this way, march into the white silence, the unbroken, icy slumber of centuries about the south pole, and there collect the needful scientific spoils.
Notes
1 Latter half of month only.
Footnotes
2 G. Neumayer, “Die Erforschung des Süd-Polar Gebietes.” Berlin, 1872.
G. Neumayer, “Ueber Südpolarforschung” (Report of the Sixth International Geographical Congress, London, 1895).
Sir John Murray, “The Renewal of Antarctic Exploration” (“Geographical Journal,” January, 1894); and the “Narrative” of the Challenger Reports.
K. Fricker, “Entstehung und Verbreitung des Antarktischen Treibeises.” Leipzig, 1893.
K. Fricker, “Antarktis.” Berlin, 1898.
For bibliography, see T. Chavanne, “Die Literatur über die Polar-Regionen der Erde” (Wien, 1878); and the Antarctic Number of the “Scottish Geographical Magazine” (October, 1898).
3 Bull. Soc. Géol. de France [3], xxiii, p. 589.