1912. No. 12. 



THE SEA WEST OF SPITSBERGEN. 



35 



Stats. 6 and 7 

 y may seem to 

 indicate that 

 this part of the 

 current was 

 much warmer 

 898 than in 1899, but 

 somewhat colder than in 1910. 

 The higher temperature of the 

 upper strata above 50 metres 

 is evidently due to the much 

 later season. But as the con- 

 ditions change rapidly in these 

 shallow waters no certain con- 

 clusions can be drawn from 

 so few observations. 



During the Andrée Expe- 

 dition of 1896, Prof. Arrhenius took four series 

 of temperatures on the Bear Island Platform 

 (Fig, 21, A7 — Aio), on August 22nd and 23rd, 

 1896. These stations are farther east and in 

 shallower water than Isachsen's Stat, i, Hjort's 

 Stat. 62, and Makaroft"'s Stat. 5; so that they 

 are not comparable with these. Arrhenius' 

 Stat. 7 was his deepest; its vertical tempera- 

 ture curve is represented in Fig. 24, but no 

 certain conclusions can be drawn from it. It 

 might indicate that the waters of this region 

 were considerably warmer in August, 1896, than in June, 

 1899, but colder than in June, 19 10, and also somewhat 

 colder than in September, 1898. These are, however, 

 very doubtful conclusions as the observations are far too 

 few, and the conditions change very rapidly in this shallow 

 sea, on the boundary between the Atlantic and the arctic 

 current. 



At Hamberg's Stat. P, of August ist, 1898, no observ- 

 ations were taken in the layers between 100 and 500 

 metres. The mean temperature of 100 to 400 metres^ has therefore to be 

 taken from the vertical temperature-curve (see Fig. 28) which cannot be very 

 accurate. According to this, the mean temperature should be about 3.25° C. 



