312 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' 



scarcely imaginable that such extraordinary uniformity of 

 fracture should occur in an ice-sheet that is resting on the 

 land, where there must be some irregularity in friction and 

 ice-tension tending to divert the straightness of the rents. 



One other evidence of importance remains to be noticed 

 in this connection. In one of the crevasses extending from 

 the north end of White Island Mr. Royds took some serial 

 temperatures. Close to the land he found that the tempera- 

 ture fell with the depth to a mean level of —9°, but at a 

 distance of ten miles from the land he got a different result. 

 Here at first the temperature fell, but as the thermometer was 

 lowered its column rose again until, at a depth of nineteen 

 fathoms, it showed zero. Deeper than this he could not go on 

 account of the snow in the crevasse, but I think it must be 

 conceded that the only reasonable cause for such a rise of 

 temperature as was observed is the presence of water beneath 

 the ice. 



When all the facts which I have mentioned are considered, 

 I do not see that there can be any reasonable cause to doubt 

 that the Great Barrier ice-sheet is afloat at least as far south as 

 we travelled. 



Move7Tient and Exierit of the Great Barrier. — After our 

 observations of the stagnant condition of the ice about our 

 winter quarters and in the Ferrar Glacier, the report of the 

 Barrier movement came as a surprise. The reader will 

 remember that its discovery was more or less accidental, and 

 resulted from the fact that Mr. Barne, on visiting Depot ' A ' 

 in 1903, found that its bearing was altered, and thirteen and a 

 half months after its establishment he carefully measured its 

 displacement, which he found to be 608 yards. The direction 

 in which it is travelling must be a little to the east of north, 

 and consequently this figure probably represents the whole 

 movement during the period. The direction of movement is 

 indicated by the vast disturbances encountered off the eastern 

 slopes of Mount Terror. Here the sheet is pressing up and 

 shearing past the land-ice, raising numerous huge parallel 

 pressure ridges. It would almost seem possible that move- 



