Climatic Chaiigf s in Japan since Pliocejio Epoch. 13 



minimum, and if there is an}^ influence from it, as Prof. Schott 

 rightly remarks, ^^ it would be on the Japan Sea side, where flows 

 a branch stream along the coast Avhose influence, however, is of 

 course much weaker and only limited to that side. As the result 

 of this cooling power of the wind on the land, the waters of the 

 immediate neighbourhood of the coast are also cooled down, 

 often to about 10°C as has been already mentioned. Also we 

 must not forget to mention that, except in midsummer, there 

 is always a counter-current intervening between the coast and the 

 Kuroshio which is taken b}^ Schott for its backset, but which from 

 its comparatively low temperature was formerly even thought to be 

 a southern continuation of the cold Kurik Current which comes 

 down at least to the north-eastern shores of Honshu. Under such 

 circumstances it would be impossible to attribute a spcciallij Kcirmincj 

 power to the current just for the Diluvial age. But supposing that 

 we can do it for some reason or other, can we then attribute a 

 great cooling power to the Gulf Stream which now exercises such a 

 great influence on the climate of Western Europe, simply because 

 there was an ice-age on that side of our Northern Hemisphere? It 

 goes without saying that such an arbitrary way of explaining 

 things is of no value at all in science. 



Accordingly only one cause remains, viz., the displacement 

 of the poles or, as it may perhaps better be expressed, a change 

 in the position of the earth's axis. This is, I believe, the most 

 plausible explanation in a case like ours. 



Neumayr^ in 1887 and Nathorst^^ in 1888 already attempted 

 to explain the curious geographical distribution of the Arctic- 

 Tertiary flora of the Miocene period by this change of the earth's 

 axis. The plants of this flora which betray a rather temperate 

 climate of 8° — 10°C in the yearly average, a climate roughly 

 corresponding to that of our Southern Hokkaido, were found in 

 Grinell Land (81° 45' N.L.), Greenland (70' N.L.), Spitzbergen 

 (77 J and 77§ N.L.), the Lower Lena (65° N.L.), the Lower Amoor 



1) Oberflächen-Temperaturen und Strömungen der ostasiatischen Gewässer, p. 45. 



2) Erdgeschichte IL p. 511. 



3) Zur Fossilen Flora Japans, p. 53. 



