OBSERVATIONS ON THE VEGETATION OF IIIF, ANIARC lIC SEA 249 



Here 1 ha\e noticed an c\'cn, sand}- beach \\liicli has proxcd (|iiitc un- 

 suilahle tor an\' macroscopic marine plant-life. Kll.llMw' points out 

 that he ne\er found an\- noteworthy Httoral \ei;ctation on an exposed 

 coast, but on!)' in sheltered places on the inside of islanils . It is 

 princi]\all\' the ice which has to be taken into consideration, as will 

 be shown later on. 



The bottom exercises the same intluence in the Antarctic Sea 

 as in other parts of the world. In the list of stations will be found 

 the different kinds of bottom encountei'cd duiint; the voyage. 



Hie sali nit}- and temperature of the sea exercises a large 

 inlluence on the dexelopment of \'egetation. As to the Arctic .Sea 

 KjELL.MAX' remarks that the coast-water of Siberia gets mixed with 

 massgs of freshwater from the large rivers and that the po\'ert}' of the 

 littoral region might parti}' be due to this fact. There is nothing cor- 

 responding to this in the Antarctic. \o rivers are known and su])er- 

 fluous precipitation discharges itself in the form of icebergs, or, if the 

 necessar}' conditions are wanting, in the form of smaller pieces of ice. 

 I feel sure that only a small part of this freshwater-ice melts in the 

 vicinity of Antarctic lands, most of it being brought farther to north. 

 In the spring antl summer certain!}- the snow on the beach melts, but 

 onl}' in one place, Se}'mour Island, ha\'e we seen the snow melt on 

 a couip;u'ati\ely large scale. 



If we compare the statements on the salinitv- of northern seas gi- 

 ven b}- KjELLMAN ■' w ith the figures given below, we shall fijid that 

 the salinity of the Antarctic seawater exceeds a little that of the Arctic. 



The tenijierature of the water is, as is well known, \er}' low in 

 polar seas, but this does not prevent the existence of a rich x'egeta- 

 tion. In tins respect the Antarctic is not inferior to the Arctic. The 

 followin^j table clearlv shous that we have to do with a \er\- cold sea. 



' Alg. Aret. Sea, p. 22. 

 '' Alg. Aret. Sea, p. 26. 

 ^ Alg. .\rct. Sea, p. 28. 



