130 



II. LOCATION OT^' SITPSTATIOFS. 



The Sub-stations reco-mended on Fcge ire proposed for in- 

 vestigp.tions of sT^ecial conditions, consequently ti-e success of 

 their operntions would depend chiefly on the choice of suitable loc- 

 ations- in this cnse the geograpi-ic requirement is, tVerefore, para- 



mount . 



A. ARCTIC GUE-STATIOIJ 



One of tl-e -^ost ir^Dortant problems, perhaps tbe nost important, 

 in oceanic biolog- is how termperature determines tbe distribution, 

 and tbe various c-clic events m the lives of nnrine arima.s and 

 nl-nt'^ Therefore the beh-vior un^er controlled conditions, of the 

 loTtl^of In^mals that ere at home near the lower limit of tempera- 

 ture is as imnorta-^t as that of anlm.ls living near t^^e upper limit. 

 Rut^ao regular studies of low temperature biolog- m the sea are 



in prigress, .n fnct,none are feasible under existms auspices. 



no 



We nlso reed to learn the cVor^cter and biological economy of 

 the Arctic waters rs a wv^ole, because of t^^e extr.ordinarv faunal 

 richness of the regions where the^^ meet t>^e tropic v.aters _ntro- 

 ducin^ much discussed problems such as the relative fertility of 

 the two tbe limitation of nlant life in the Arctic by the a^^ount 

 of sun^^p^ht, and the c^^uses of the association between plant flow- 

 erings nnd tv^e melting of ice. The outstanding Arctic problem, 

 from^^the standpoint of physical Cceanograph^r, is t^-e effect ol 

 melting ice in the gener-1 oceanic complex. 



Problems such as these cnn be rttacked only from srme head- 

 quarters where t>-ul- Arctic and ice laden water is at hand. And 

 the northeastern corst of North America o_-fers an opportunity as 

 unioue intbis respect ns in others (Page 153), because nowhere else 

 in the world does a m- i or overflow from the Arctic ^cec-.n, and one 

 oreserviiiP- tbose Arctic Gh-r-cters unadulterated, closely sxirt tre 

 co-^stline at 1^'titudes so low, rnd near centers of nopulntion so 

 larFe' The corsts of njurope offer nothing cnrnp^rable, m tbis^re- 

 sTDOct' to the Labrndor current: neither does northwestern America 

 or Asi- ^n the north: Africn or Australia in the south. To mrtcn 

 the Labrndor current it wculd be necessary to tnrn to some -^^tic 

 or Antarctic oo-st, the f-tal disadvantages of which, as t^e head- 

 quarters for a permrnent oceanographic st-tion, nre too obvious to 

 need comment, 



Tbe primnr^- reruirem-ent that sbould determine the location of 

 p^-i Arctic sub-station on the east coast of North A-eric" i^s , t> en 

 re-d- access to tbe Labrador current- nnd a situ^cion so f-r north 

 that the l-tter retains its Arctic temperr tiiro. . Secondary reouiro- 

 ^Q^,^7^,/(l^ A Pood h-rbor protected from drift ice m summer, con 

 v-nient to the open se-, but with sheltered wnter at h-nd: (2) /.c- 

 cessibilit- to woters o^ different thermal charrcter -nd origin, 

 M e w-rmer) for comn-rative studies: (3) A reasonable degree of 

 nocessibiiit- b- some reml^-r ccn^erclai transportation 3xn3- o" e 

 nreferablv in' operation throughout t^^e -e.r. This last proviso we 

 be^jeve to be m;-de -ore urgent b-- the f-ct th-^t oce.onograpi^ic stud- 

 ies '-round t^^a Arctic margins h-ve, 's a rule, been co-^fined to the 

 summer se^so^^, e-ph-si^ mg the need of learning tne conH:.tio- m 



