.",'.) 



men det er neppe muligt at, bringe dens amorfe Partikler 

 i eu tilstækkelig fint fordelt Tilstand. 



Det kunde synes naturligt at antage, at den Grad af 

 Finhed, hvori Lerets mineralske Blandingédele befinder sig, 

 maatte staa i et lovmæssigt Forhold til Afstanden fra Land. 

 I det store tåget er dette ogsaa ganske rigtigt. nemlig naar 

 der er Tale om længere Strækninger, eller hvis man altsaa 

 sammenligner Bundprøver, der er optagne fjernt fra hin- 

 anden og paa forskjellige Dyb (f. Ex. paa Kystbankerne 

 ug i det egentlige Havbasin). men indenfor det graa Lers 

 eget Omraade er den ovenanførte Regel neppe anvendelig. 

 Kystsedimenternes Fpranderlighed og Ubestemthed i denne 

 Retning er tidligere paavist ved talrige Observationer, og 

 Bundprøverne fra den norske Expedition tjener til Bekræf- 

 telse herpaa. 



Jeg skal saaledes exempelvis nævne, at vi ved Expe- 

 ditionens sydligste Rute - - fra Sognefjordens Munding til 

 Island - - paa Stationerne 8 og 9, der ligger 4 — 5 Mile 

 fra Land. rinder en lin ensartet Prove, der udelukkende 

 bestaar af amorft Ler, medens derimod Stationerne l-t og 

 18— omkring 7 og 18 Mile hengere ud i Havet — viser 

 et grovkornigt Ler. der ved Slemning gav et betydeligt 

 Residuum (30 — 40 pCt.) af grovere, mineralske Partikler. 



Det samme Forhold moder os ved Betragtningen af 

 Bundprøverne fra Expeditionens nordligere Snit, Paa Sta- 

 tionerne 110. 114. 116. 117. 118 og 123 (15— 30 Mile fra 

 Land), har jeg saaledes ogsaa fundet fint- og grovkornigt 

 Ler i et vexlende Forhold, der ikke synes at rette sig efter 

 Afstanden fra Kysten. Denne Uregelmæssighed viser sig 

 i det Hele tåget overalt paa Kystbankerne, hvor Expedi- 

 tionen har foretaget Dybdemaalinger fra Land og udover 

 mod Havet i planmæssig Rækkefølge. 



Af de Dyr. hvis uorganiske Rester forekommer i 

 Kystleret, gives der naturligvis en Mangfoldighed af Arter, 

 ligesom de ogsaa optræder i vexlende Antal, men sjelden 

 udgjør de nogen væsentlig Del af Bundproverne. Blandt 

 de almindeligste af de Foraminiferer, der er fundne i 

 Bundprøverne fra de norske Kystbanker, er Slægten Vrige- 

 rina 1 . Denne Foraminifer er sjeldnere i det graa Ler 

 langs Spidsbergens Kyst, der i det Hele tåget synes at 

 være fattigere paa Dyrelevninger. Det kan nævnes, at jeg 

 ber paa enkelte Stationer har fundet D/scorbina i et stort 

 Antal. 



Prøverne af graat Ler fra Færø-Islandsbanken viste 

 sig at være næsten fuldkommen frie for Dyrelevninger. 



I Havet nordenfor Norge er det vanskelig at bestemme 

 Grændserne for det graa Lers Udbredelse, da det ber stø- 

 der sammen med og lidt efter lidt gaai' o.ver i det grønlige 

 Rhabdammina-Ler. Langs Nordkysten af Norge er der af 

 Expeditionen ikke foretaget nogen Dybdemaaling, men vi 



1 Jeg maa oplyse om, at Hr. Prof. Sårs har været af den God- 

 hed at bestemme disse i Leret forekommende Dyr, der isærdeleshed 

 har tiltrukket sig min Opmærksomhed. 



be macerated by boiling in water; luit how reduce the 

 amorphous matter to the requisite degree of fineness. 



It sinus reasonable to assume that the magnitude of 

 the mineral constituents of the claj should be raainly de- 

 termined by the distance from land. And, tåken in a liroad 

 sense, this is found to be the case, viz. with regard to éx- 

 tensive tracts of the bottom, or. when comparing samples 

 from widely distant localities and different depths (tor ex- 

 ample, the coastal banks as contrasted with the true ocean- 

 basin); but within the limits of the arey clay formation the 

 rule will hardly apply. The variable and uncertain charac- 

 ter of shore-deposits in this respect, bas previously been 

 shown by numerous observaiåons, and the samples of the 

 bottom obtained on the Norwegian Expedition afford addi- 

 tional proof. 



Thus, for instance. on the most southerly route of 

 the Expedition — from the mouth of the Sognefjord to 

 Iceland — samples of a tine. homogeneous deposit, con- 

 sisting exclusively of amorphous clayey matter, came up at 

 Stations 8 and 9, distant respectively 4 and 5 geographical 

 miles from land. whereas at Stations 14 and 18. ly ing 

 about 7 and 18 geographical miles farther out, the bottom 

 was found to be covered with a coarsely granulated elay 

 that. on being thorougly washed, left a very considerablé 

 residue (30 or 40 per cent) of coarse mineral particles. 



A similar contrast is met with on comparing together 

 the samples of the bottom from the northern section of the 

 tract explored. Thus, at Stations 1 10. 114. 116, 117. 118, 

 and 123 (from 15 to 30 geographical miles from land). I 

 found tinely and ' coarsely granulated clays occurring under 

 conditions which are in no wise determined, it would seem, 

 hy the distance from the eoast. This striking want of 

 uriiformity proved generally characteristic of coastal deposit 

 wheresoever systematic series of soundings were tåken from 

 the shore to the banks. 



The inorganic animal remains that occur in the grey 

 coastal clay are referable to a great variety of species, 

 more or less nuinerously represented, but they rarely con- 

 stitute any considerablé portion of the deposit. Among 

 the Foraminifera found in the samples of the bottom from 

 the Norwegian coastal banks, one of the genera of most 

 frequent occurrence is Uvigerina. 1 This animal is compar- 

 atively rare in the grey clay off the coast of Spitzbergen, 

 which indeed would appear to be less rich in animal re- 

 mains. Heie. however, at a few Stations, I found the 

 deposit to contain great numbers of the shells of Discorliina. 



The samples of grey clay from the Færoe-Iceland 

 bank exhibit scarce a trace of animal remains. 



In the tract of ocean stretching north of Norway, it 

 is difficult to determine the exact limits for the distribution 

 of the grey clay, since it there borders on. and is gradually 

 merged into, the greenish-coloured Rhabdammina clay. Along 

 the north coast of Norway no soundings were tåken, but 



1 Professor G. O. Sårs has had the kindness to determine such 

 of the animals occurring in the clay as particularly attracted my 

 attention. 



