1915] on Recent Advances in Oceanography 333 



a deep Polar basin to within sixty miles of the shores of Alaska. 

 He referred to the hydrographical observations of the '' Scotia " in 

 the Labrador Current in 1913 ; the "Scotia" had been chartered 

 by the Board of Trade, in order to carry on investigations with re- 

 gard to the distribution of ice, after the wreck of the " Titanic." 



Antarctic oceanography, Dr. Bruce said, could not be considered 

 without special reference to the work of Ross, Hooker, Murray, and 

 Buchanan. Everything that Boss did remains good to the present 

 day ; much has been added, but nothing taken away. 



The Scottish Antarctic Expedition of 1892 led the way in modern 

 Antarctic exploration. The work carried out by it was oceano- 

 graphical in character. These were the first scientific observations 

 taken in these seas since the time of Ross. This expedition resulted 

 in a wave of enthusiam which ultimately led to the dispatch of the 

 many international expeditions during the past twenty years. The 

 " Belgica " was the first ship to pass a winter in the Antarctic 

 regions, and made a most extensive and systematic bathymetrical 

 survey, mapping out the continental shelf of the Antarctic continent 

 along a distance of 500 miles, and determining its mean depth. 



The voyages of Scott, Shackleton, and Amunsden did not 

 emphasize oceanography, though they shone in brilliant achieve- 

 ments on shore. The Belgian, Scottish, French, and Australasian 

 expeditions carried on a large amount of oceanographical work. 



The " Scotia " had carried out the most extensive deep-sea re- 

 searches of any Antarctic expedition. These researches still hold the 

 record despite the fine oceanographical work of the AustraHans. The 

 Australians carried out a fine bathymetrical survey between Australia 

 and New Zealand towards and along the coast-line of Antarctica over 

 a stretch of almost 2000 miles. Many valuable dredgings were taken 

 by the Australians under the direction of Dr. Mawson and Captain 

 Davis, including very rich trawlings on the continental shelf of 

 Antarctica. 



Referring especially to the work of the " Scotia," he said she was 

 fitted out to sound, trawl, and take physical observations in the 

 Antarctic Ocean to depths as great as 6000 fathoms if they were to 

 be found. The whole equipment of the " Scotia " was based on the 

 record of Ross, having in 1843 sounded in the Weddell Sea with 

 4000 fathoms of line, and without touching the bottom. It was 

 found that Ross's sounding was incorrect, the " Scotia " touching 

 bottom at 2660 fathoms and fetching up a sample of the " blue 

 mud." This was mainly due to the primitive sounding equipment 

 that Ross had compared with that used by the " Scotia " after sixty 

 years of development. Altogether the " Scotia " took 75 deep sound- 

 ings in the region described, besides nearly 500 in the neighbourhood 

 of the South Orkneys in water less than 100 fathoms. Fifty of 

 these deep soundings were taken whilst actually navigating in the 

 ice ; 43 were taken in water exceeding 2000 fathoms. Thje deepest 



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