6o 



BJØRN HELLAND-HANSEN AND FRIDTJOF NANSEN. 



-N. Kl. 



It is also noteworthy that in the Spitsbergen Polar Current, at 

 Amundsen's Stat. 24 (of Aug. 20, 1901) between Northeast Land and 

 King Charles Land, a temperature minimum of — i-94" C. with a salinit}' 

 of 34.50 "00 was observed in 60 metres [cf. Nansen, 1906, pp. 55 and 145]. 

 This has much similarity to the intermediate cold layer at the Swedish 

 Stations in the Ice Fjord; but the temperature of the minimum is still 

 lower. As the salinity near the surface at Amundsen's Stat. 24 is not 

 very low (34.07 O/oo at 20 metres) we consider it probable that the inter- 

 mediate layer with the temperature minimum is also due to the vertical 

 circulation during the winter, which reaches to a depth of between 60 and 

 100 metres. 



A similar vertical circulation of the water was observed during the 

 Fram Expedition (1893—96) in the surface-layers of the North Polar Basin 

 during the winter. But as the salinity of the surface-layers was so low, 

 and the growth of the ice so slow (owing to its thickness), this vertical 

 circulation did not penetrate deeper than 30 or 40 metres [cf Nansen, 

 1902, pp. 313 et seq.]. 



