294 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



be expected around 6o° S west of about io° W. Farther east the " outer zone " of ice has 

 broken up and open water is found for a long distance to the south. The factory ships at 

 this time tend to concentrate in the vicinity of Enderby Land, and here large numbers of 

 records are available. The conditions are also well shown as far east as 120 E. In 

 140 E the ' Discovery II ' found open water off Adelie Land in January 1938. Condi- 

 tions in the Ross Sea again are a little uncertain, but the 1936 records suggest that the ice 

 is rapidly diminishing in this month. The Pacific sector is well covered by observations 

 of the 'Discovery II', 'William Scoresby' and 'Pourquoi Pas?', the last-named ship 

 having followed the ice-edge continuously from about 76 to 122 W. 



FEBRUARY (PLATES LXXXVI-LXXXVIII) 



Ice is still found on the north side of the Weddell Sea. East of 20° W it is generally a 

 little farther south than in January. There are plenty of records as far as 105° E, but 

 little thereafter. There are few ice observations in the Ross Sea, but there is a good chance 

 of finding clear water here in February. In the Pacific sector the ice has generally been 

 found a little farther south than in January, and the ice found by the ' Discovery II ' 

 in 1938 in about 68° S, 160° W seems unusually far north. 



MARCH (PLATES LXXXIX-XCI) 



In March the ice-edge is in much the same position as in February, but in at least 

 some regions it seems to lie a little farther south. There is probably much open water in 

 the Weddell Sea, and in 0-3 ° E the ' Discovery II ' found open water to the barrier on 

 4 and 5 March 1939. Eastwards from this point observations extend almost to the Ross 

 Sea. Probably the ice is patchy, with parts of the coast accessible. We have no records of 

 pack-ice in the Ross Sea for this month, and it may be that there is normally continuous 

 clear water to the barrier. In the Pacific sector conditions seem very similar to those of 

 February, and the mean position of the ice-edge is taken to be the same. 



APRIL (PLATE XCII) 



From April onwards observations of the pack-ice are very scarce, and we have only 

 those made by the Discovery Committee's ships. In this month there are several records 

 in the Orkney- Shetland region and three usefully spaced observations between o° and 

 50 E. There is nothing in the Australian and Pacific sectors, but the observations we 

 have clearly indicate that the ice-edge lies farther north than in March, but not much 

 farther. 



MAY AND JUNE (PLATES XCIII, XCIV) 

 There are only two records in May, one in 40-45 ° E and one in 130 E. Here again 

 there are signs of a farther advance to the north. In June again there are only two 

 records, one from o° to i7°E and one from 154 to i59°E. Both indicate that the ice 

 has made a considerable advance towards the low latitudes occupied in spring. 



