i8 



NATURE 



[January 5, 1922 



a further interest because on the summit there are 

 a few short irregular cracks from wiiich hot steam 

 still issues. Under certain atmospheric conditions 

 these cracks ' ' smoke ' ' quite obviously and this 

 phenomenon was possibly the ' ' eruption ' ' reported 

 by Scoresby in 18 18. Scores! y's accx)unt is unfor- 

 tunately written with considerable hesitation. 

 " Smoke " on Egg Bluff scarcely satisfies his descrip- 

 tion, however. It seems more probable that an 

 ash eruption actually took place at the foot of the 

 western side of Vogt (Scoresby's Esk) crater, pos- 

 sibly in the same spot where the only other authentic 

 eruption, that of 1732, was observed by Ihe whaler, 

 J. J. Laab. Beerenberg itself has never been 

 observed in activity. There is no evidence of when 

 the first eruptions took place; they may even be 

 post-glacial. 



similar decreasing glaciers in Switzerland. More 

 j exact figures, however, will be available when the 

 I ground is re-visited. 



I By the beginning of September it was obvious 

 I that the work was now practically complete. 

 i Winter weather had already set in, but we were 



told that we might still make a fair passage. We 



left the island in Polar front on September 3. 



Isfuglen, however, was remaining another fourteen 



days in order to bring home the men working at 

 I the erection of the wireless station. This they soon 

 I completed, and the first message had already reached 



Norway when we made the coastal waters on Sep- 

 t tember 9. Engineer Ekerold has therefore put up 

 j a weather station in a spot where it will be of real 



value — in the "blind corner" whence no weather 

 I warnings had previously been available. He did so 



1 koto] 



-Beerenberg from the 



[W.S.Bristoivc 

 th. 



Photo\ 



Fig. 3. — Mountains 



[W. S. Bnslou:t 

 south end of Jan Mayen. 



As regards glaciology. Prof. Mercanton has sup- 

 plied me with a* brief summary. Glaciers are con- 

 fined to Beerenberg. Four elements are distin- 

 guished : (a) the glacier which issues from Beeren- 

 berg crater; (b) a " collerette glaciaire," continu- 

 ous in its middle portion, covering the north and 

 north-east parts of the mountain ; (c) an independent 

 system on the eastern flanks; (d) a great "coller- 

 ette " covering the flanks from north round through 

 west and south to east-south-east. (Part of the latter 

 has already been referred to as the ice-cap feature.) 

 The examination of these different elements shows 

 decreasing glaciation, but whether recent or ancient 

 has not yet been discovered. The rate of movement 

 recorded shows the same order of things ' as on 

 NO. 2723, VOL. 109] 



under the most difficult and unsuitable conditions. 

 The Avork involved the unloading of delicate 

 machines from small boats on an unprotected surf- 

 ridden coast, the overcoming of the difficulties of 

 transport to the site selected, and finally the raising 

 of the masts in adverse wind conditions, and 

 fixing them in frozen ground. Ekerold is now send- 

 ing daily weather reports to Norway. With the 

 assistance of these it is hoped that it will be possible 

 to forecast the arrival of the northerly and north- 

 westerly gales which come down so suddenly all 

 along the Scandinavian coast, and thus to warn the 

 Norwegian coastal shipping, which has suffered so 

 heavily in the past from the unexpected gales from 

 that "blind corner." 



