KRID'IJOl- NANSKN. M.-N. Kl. 



huriiii;- llic j^-laci.'il pcritjfls a ^n-ni change was, however, produce'] in 

 these c(jn(Iiti(ins. T\\v \alleys were niiicli deepened by the j^-'lacial erosion, 

 the coast land was nuudi dissected l)y fjords anrl sounds, and the outer 

 coast was cut up into narr. 'w ]),iiiiisulas and tliousands of islets. Idie 

 suhacrial denudation was also very niucli increased by the conditions of 

 the glacial climates. 



The result must be ha\e been that, when llu- much dissected ceast 

 l.'md was not covered by the inland ice, the subaërial denudation, before 

 and during each glacial epoch, had a greatly increased power to denude 

 the many islets and narrow peninsulas towards sea-level. The climatic 

 conditions then greatly favoured the denudation, because the temperature 

 was low, the frost was very active destroying the rocks, and w-as assisted 

 in its disintegrating work by small local accumulations of snow in the 

 hollows of the rocks on the coast laufl, remaining during a great part 

 of the summer, and keeping the joints anrl fissures of tlie surrounding 

 rocks alwa3's filled with melting-water which would split the rocks 

 when again freezing during the frequent daily oscillations of temperature 

 above and below freezing point in tliis region of melting snow and cold sea. 



As I have pointed out before (cf. p. 6), the waste would comparatively 

 easily be carried away down the often steep slopes on these small islands 

 and peninsulas of the much dissected coast, where the distance to the sea 

 is very short. In addition to the transport of the waste by running water, 

 there may also have been a considerable transport of matter by the down- 

 ward movement of the soil, consisting of water-soaked mud or gravel or 

 even stones, along the slopes. This movement is caused by the freezing 

 and melting of the water in the soppy soil and gravel. This transport is 

 very common in Arctic lands, as has especially been described by Joh. 

 Gunnar Andersson and Bertil Hogbom [1914J, and may often be con- 

 siderably more effective than the transport of waste by running water. 



In this manner the rock surface of the dissected coast land has been 

 covered by comparatively little waste, and was therefore continually ex- 

 posed to fresh attacks of the subaërial denudation, especially that caused 

 by the frost. 



All these processes mentioned above may now be studied in full 

 activity on Spitsbergen. 



It has obviously also been of great importance that each time the in- 

 land ice or the local glaciers of the glacial periods advanced over the coast 

 land all waste and loose material on the land, as well as in the fjords and 

 sounds, would be carried away seawards, and when the glaciers again 

 retreated all valleys and sounds had been reopened and fresh rock surfaces 

 were exposed to new attacks of a vigorous subaërial denudation. During 

 the various glacial epochs, while the margin of the inland ice was standing 

 near the outer coast land, there were probably many such oscillations of 

 the glaciers [cf. Nansen, 1904, pp. 109, 113]. 



1 



