1910.] INLAND-ICE OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 97 



a staff near the highest point in his journey across the inland-ice 

 along the 64th parallel. At elevations in excess of 2,270 meters 

 Najisen found the surface snow " soft " and freshly fallen, but of 

 dust-like fineness. Beneath the surface layer, a few inches in 

 thickness only, there was a crust less than an inch in thickness 

 which was ascribed to the slight melting of the surface in mid- 

 summer,^*^^ and below this crust other layers of the fine " frost 

 snow " more and more compact in the lower portions, but reaching 

 a thickness of fifteen inches or thereabouts before another crust and 

 layer was encountered. °^ Other sections made in like manner by 

 pushing down a staff, revealed similar stratification of the surface 

 snow with individual layers never exceeding in thickness a few feet. 

 From these observations Nansen has drawn the conclusion that the 

 layers of his sections correspond to seasonal snowfalls, the thin 

 crust upon the surface of each being due to surface melting in the 

 few warm days of midsummer. He cites Nordenskiold as believing 

 that the moist winds which reach the continent of Greenland de- 

 posit most of their moisture near the margin.''^ 



The sky during almost the entire time of the journey is de- 

 scribed by Nansen as so very clear that the sun could be seen, and 

 there were few days in which the sky was completely overcast. 

 Even when snow was falling, which often happened, the falling 

 snow was not thick enough to prevent the sun showing through. 

 This clearly indicates that the snow falls from layers of air very 

 near the snow surface below. The particles which fell were always 

 fine, like frozen mist — what in certain parts of Norway is known 

 as " frost snow " ; that is, snow which falls without the moisture 

 first passing through the cloud stage.^^ 



The air temperatures even in August and September, when the 

 crossing was made, were on the highest levels seldom much above 

 the zero of the Fahrenheit scale, and at night they sank by over 

 40° F. (in one case to — 50° F.). 



^'"' In the light of later studie.s this may as satisfactorily be explained 

 through hardening by the wind. 

 " Mohn u. Nansen, /. c. p. 86. 

 ^Nansen, /. c, Vol. i, p. 495. 

 °'' Nansen, /. c, Vol. 2, p. 56. 



PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. , XLIX, I94 G, PRINTED JUNE 9, I9IO. 



