92 



TEMPERATURE. 



The Mean Temperature of the Antarctic. 



From a olimatologioal point of view, it is of f:;reat importanco to know the mean tem- 

 perature of all parts of the globe. Several attempts have been made to estimate the mean 

 temperature of the Antarctic ; but on account of the paucity of data, the results are open 

 to a considerable amount of uncertainty. The latest attempt was made by Professor Meinardus 

 in 1909.* His investigation gave the following values for the mean temperature between 60'' S. 

 and the South Pole. 



Table .5.3. 



Memi Temperature of the Antarctic (Meinardus). 



These values have been plotted in figure 30, and the new data for Cape Adare, McMurdo 

 Sound, Framheim, and the Barrier added for comparison. 



SOUTH LATITUDE 



Fig. ."iO. Mean temperature of the Antarctic. 



9o°S 



The value for Cape Adare falls almost exactly on the curve, but that for McMurdo 

 Sound is too high, while those for Framheim and the Barrier fall far too low. Meinardus's 

 curve is afn estimate of the average temperature over the whole of various latitudes, and it 

 is necessary to review in the light ot the new data whether Meinardus's values are satisfac- 

 tory. 



Framheim is only one degree further south than McMurdo Sound, yet they differ in mean 

 temperature by 15°F. We have already shown that this difference is due to McMurdo Sound 



• Scobel's Geographischea Handbuch, page 74. 



