OCEANOGRAPHY OF SEA OF GREENLAND—DAMAS. Sil 
same density it is because they can not admix freely. It follows, then, 
that there exists a barrier preventing the free circulation between the 
profound depths of the two oceanic basins. 
The possibility of establishing a similar hypothesis rests upon the 
extreme exactitude of modern oceanographic research. Thanks to an 
exceptionally perfect outfit, to which Nansen himself greatly con- 
tributed, it is possible to determine the temperature and the density 
of waters at all depths with a precision impossible ten years ago. On 
board the Belgica the temperatures were measured with the aid of 
Richter’s thermometers to within an approximation of 0.02 of a de- 
gree. In numerous instances two thermometers were employed 
simultaneously, and in more than 75 per cent of the cases the differ- 
ence between the two readings, after a correction varying for each in- 
strument, was less than 0.01 of a degree. The salinity has been de- 
termined by titration of the chlorine down to nearly 0.02 per cent.¢ 
For waters from the profound depths the method has been controlled 
by hydrostatic pressure. After this manner the density could be 
calculated for all the depths as far as the fifth decimal place. A 
difference apparently so shght as that admitted by Nansen, 1.02825 
against 1.02811, is then an accurate indication of the composition and 
origin of the bodies of water. 
Accepting the fact that the southeast part of the Greenland Sea is 
well explored, the problems which presented themselves to the ex- 
pedition were these: 
First. To begin at the northeast angle of Spitzbergen and course 
toward the northwest in order to cut across the hypothetical barrier of 
Nansen by a line of soundings. 
Second. To come back as far as possible into the midst of the ice of 
the polar current. 
Third. To reach the coast of Greenland in order to make, as nearly 
as possible, a cross section of the body of water which covers the 
continental platform. 
The labors relative to the expedition are now finished and will ap- 
pear shortly. They constitute an important volume of more than 
500 pages, accompanied by 80 plates, maps, and diagrams, compris- 
ing the following memoirs: 
Succinet account of the voyage and extracts of the itinerary by A. de Gerlache. 
Meteorology: Synoptic maps of the weather for July and August, 1905, by 
M. Dan La Cour. 
Geology: Submarine sediments collected in the Greenland Sea by M O. B. 
Boggild. 
Botany: Plants collected on the northeast coast of Greenland, by C. H. 
Ostenfeld. 
“This method has been the object of adverse criticism in France. Helland- 
Hansen and Koefoed question if this method will permit a sufficiently precise 
determination. 
