NO. 17.] THE TEMPERATURE OF THE POLAR ICE. 569 



year it more than counterbalances the loss of ice on the upper surface, and every 

 year adds to the thickness of the ice. Prof. Nansen has informed me that 

 his observations show that the thickness of the drifting ice increased with the 

 more westerly position of the Fram. When the ice formed in the Polar Basin 

 reaches the North Atlantic Ocean and the Greenland Sea, and comes in con- 

 tact with the Gulf Stream, it melts and loses in thickness. 



The observations of the ice-temperatures instituted by Prof. Nansen, and 

 carried out, in spite of many difficulties, under the supervision of Capt. Scott- 

 Hansen, have thus, I believe, led to the discovery of important facts and an 

 extended insight into the work of Nature in the high polar regions. 



72 



