83 



and more to the north, the need of more detailed information as to 

 the Stat- of the Artie ice from season to season correspondingly 

 increases. Thus it is a liv.-" question how many months in the year 

 opn wnt^r can be depL^nded upon in Hudson Strait and in the northern 

 and northeast.rrn parts of Hudson Bay. The answer will detvrmine the 

 practicability of developing the harbors on the B^y ^s export centers 

 for whe?t, ttc, from th.- Cynadien North-West, in competition with 

 the harbors in the Gulf of St. Lawrcnc-,- and to the southward. In' 

 this case, it is th. drift of ice from the North that will govern, 

 not the ice frozen locally in these comp^retively low latitudes. 

 This drift, in turn is det-rmined by th-, dominant movement of the 

 water in its course out of the Bay, and through the Straits. The 

 Canadian Government is fully »ilive to th^- importance of this matter, 

 has already sent several expeditions to th: Straits, and has done so 

 again in the summer of 1929. 



A.t the Conference on Oceanography at the U. 3. Navy Department 

 in 1936 the United States Coast Guard urged the importance of a study 

 of the expansions and contractions of polar ice through Bering 

 Straits, to safeguard the voyages of the whalers to the ft.rctic coasts 

 of Alaska and Canada. 



The rapid development of air navigation, leading to attempts to 

 develop safe flying routes over the top of the '.-iiorld (to shorten the 

 distance from America to northern Europe), gives added significance 

 to the state of the ice in the Arctic, especially to the northward of 

 Spitzbergen, from season to season, and fromi year to year. 



For all these navigational reasons, as well as in the interests 

 of the fisheries (page 6-7) , and for the general advancement of science, 

 we need not only a better knowledge of the circulatory events in the 

 sea, but bett-r understanding of the underlying forces that keep the 

 ocean currents in motion, as well as of the relative effects of the 

 conflicting factors that influencd their set gnd drift. This under- 

 stsnding cannot be gained by continued compilstion of log-reports, no 

 matt-r how extensive, because the underlying wsters are involved, as 

 well ns the surface. Quit; e different proceding is celled for; one 

 that finds its most mod.-rn expression in mathematical inalys-s of the 

 dynamic factors in the sea, such as are now being actively undertaken 

 3t various Cc:nt5rs in 2urope and North America. Work of this sort, 

 howev.r, can hardly be attempted on a Irrge sc?le by sny governmental 

 establishment, because the difficulty of demonstrsting *tn immediete 

 economic result mak:s legislative support difficult to win. And whil" 

 the development of methods of attack, etc., often draws inspiration 

 from one or anoth -r isolated cent^::r or individual, successful ppplice- 

 tion to the oceans demands coop--ration betw-en many institutions, 

 becaus, the field is oceanwide. Observations must also be carried on 

 for many years to trace the long-time fluctuations that are alre'^'dy 

 known to occur. Som:- Ccnt-r of inspiration and coordination is sorely 

 needed to encourage work of this sort in America. 



In many parts of the world the tidal currents run with velocities 

 much greater than those of the ocean drifts on the high seas, and 

 they are usually strongest n^^xt to th r land, just where ships meet 

 their greatest danger. ^ in fact they may play their greatest economic 

 role within busy harbors. 



IContrary to the belief common among landsmen, the well-found ship is 

 safest when far out at sea: when skirting the land she is in con- 

 stant risk. 



