PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. LXXIX 



transit, &c., of these sub- Antarctic lows. It is to be hoped that 

 this Association will see its way to strongly recommend the main- 

 tenance by the Commonwealth Government of this wireless and 

 meteorological station on a permanent basis^. If this scheme is 

 carried out I am assured that the comparatively small expense, 

 perhaps £800 to £1000 a year, will be recouped tenfold in actual 

 economic benefit to the Commonwealth, and thus the good work 

 that this Association has done in giving such timely aid to Dr. 

 Mawson's expedition will live, let us hope, and benefit humanity 

 for all time. 



It is thus to Macquarie Island, the great potential meteoro- 

 logical link between Australasia and Antarctica, that I wish 

 specially to invite your attention to-night. As already explained, 

 observations in Antarctica have shown that on the whole there is 

 strong evidence for the existence of a high level Antarctic cyclone, 

 at all events in the Ross region of East Antarctica. 



At the base of this lies a large mass of very cold, dry, and 

 therefore heavy air, inert and stagnant for the most part, but 

 locally crumbling away at its base under its own pressure from 

 time to time, and giving rise to those fierce outrushes of air, the 

 blizzards. At King Edward VII. Land these are easterly winds, 

 near Mount Erebus, south-easterly, from the South Magnetic Pole 

 area to Adelie Land southerly, at Kaiser Wilhelm II. Land 

 easterly. Although sometimes they persist as a distinct entity 

 across the belt of the westerlies, and may even perhaps reach the 

 shores of New Zealand, they probably mostly expend their energy 

 in reinforcing the S.-W. or S. limb of one of the many violent 

 cyclones which have their centres near the zone of lowest pressure 

 ("Die Rinne ") in the belt of westerly winds between the Ant- 

 arctic circle and the parallel of 60 deg. S. In this belt of low 

 pressure the air appears to soar aloft in gigantic eddies. Why 

 it should so soar is difficult to understand. It is thought that 

 the air in the westerly belt, increasing its speed in order to con- 

 serve its moment of momentum as it spirals around the earth 

 southwards, develops great centrifugal force which tends to swell 

 up a ring of air (like the protuberant belt " der Wulst") of 

 the equator, but formed mechanically, not thermally like the 

 equatorial " Wulst." Ascending vapour, converted into rain or 

 sleet, sets free latent heat, which further encourages the rising of 

 the atmosphere in local domes upon the swollen air ring of latitude 

 62 deg. S. Thus at a high level above " Die Rinne " there is 

 probably an increased atmospheric pressure as compared with the 

 pressure at a similar level over the South Pole and over the 

 Southern Anticyclone Belt. Hence it is probable that there is 



' The Government of the Dominion of New Zealand, with the most emphatic support of the 

 proposal by their Meteorologist, Mr. Bates, have subsequently joined this Associauon in strongly 

 urging the Federal Government to take over this wireless and meteorological station, and main- 

 tain it on a permanent basis. Since this address was read the Commonwealth Government have 

 agreed to take over this wireless meteorological station for a year, and we may hope that this 

 step is preliminary to its permanent maintenance by the Government. 



