423 



weather conditions of places within easy reach of the ship. It was not only in the matter of temperature, 

 as I have already described, but also in the force and direction of the wind. On the 17th (March, 1902) 

 at the ship we had a very strong blow from the south, at one time rising in force to a full gale, but the 

 party, only some 12 miles to the eastward, had felt nothing of this; with them the day had been calm 

 though overcast. This difference of weather conditions could be observed throughout the journey ; neither 

 those on board, nor those away could have told from their own meteorological conditions what the weather 

 might have been with the others, and this fact was again and again impressed upon us throughout our 

 stay in this region. Already we had learnt that the prevalent wind at our Winter Quarters blew from 

 south-east through the gap, and that this wind was usually local, and frequently ceased within a mile or 

 two of the ship. To this we could now add some further conclusions. It was evident that the eastern 

 slopes of Terror were terribly wind swept, and that the prevailing direction was from south, while the 

 deep bay immediately to the eastward of our peninsula was a particularly windless area, where the snow 

 lay thick and soft and was only occasionally stirred by whirling squalls." 



During the autumn months of March and April the mean height of the barometer on board the " Discovery. " An- 

 "Discovery" was 29'369 inches; the highest reading, 30'081 inches, recorded on the 15th April, was ter Quarter*. 

 associated with a fresh breeze from east-south-cast ; the lowest, 28'850 inches, on the 5th of that month, 

 with a light air from east-north-east. This gives an absolute range of 1-231 inches. 



The mean temperature during these 2 months is found to have been 0-5F. ; the maximum reading, 

 27'5 ., was made on the 9th March, during a calm ; the minimum reading, - 31'6 F., on the 23rd April, 

 with a gentle breeze from east-north-east; showing a range of 59 - l F. Out of 704 wind observations 

 59 per cent, were of winds from north-eastward, eastward and south-eastward ; 26 per cent, were of calms. 

 The mean force of the wind, as estimated, comes out at 2'8; but 14 gales, 12 of them of force 8 and 2 of 

 them of force 9. were experienced and 12 strong winds. The weather was "o" or "c" on 47 days, 

 "b" on 14. Snow fell on 19 days, " m " was recorded on 12 and "f " on 2 days. Aurora was seen on 

 11 days. 



During Lieutenant ROYD'S sledge journey to Cape Crozier from March 4 to 19, already referred to, the Lieutenant ROYD'S 

 mean of the temperature observations is found to have been - l-4 F. A maximum temperature of 22-5 F. Croz'i'eT '"Mar'-'l' 6 

 is given in the Register on the 8th, a minimum of - 42 F. on the 16th ; a range of 64'5 F. The mean force 1902. 

 of the wind recorded is 1 -4 ; from the 5th to the 9th inclusive, and again on the 16th and 17th, there appears 

 to have been little or no wind, but on the 12th the following entry occurs in the Register: "Blew hard all 

 night " (night of 1 lth-12th), and next day the entry is made : " High wind all night " (night of 12th-13th). 



The wind blew hard during the night of the 18th-19th in heavy gusts, but at 5 a.m. " calm " is recorded, 

 and again at 8 a.m.; at 2.30 p.m. the entry "light variable airs" occurs. As the party approached the 

 land, on the afternoon of the 19th, the temperature rose and the wind freshened from south-east. 



While the sledge party was experiencing the low temperatures given above, the mean of the observations 

 for temperature in the screen near the ship was 11-1 F., i.e., 12'5 higher than the mean of the tempera- 

 tures observed by the sledge party. The absolute maximum of 27' 5 F., observed during the period at 

 Winter Quarters, occurred on the 9th, a day after the sledge party's absolute maximum ; the absolute 

 minimum of - 8-5, on the 15th, or a day before the sledge party's minimum. 



A sledge party led by Captain SCOTT, on a journey a few miles to the south, to a position half-way Captain SCOTT'S 

 between the ship and White Island, for the purpose of laying out a depot, left Winter Quarters on the { v'l ii uP" I , to ''i ar '- 1 

 31st March and returned on the 3rd April. March and April, 



1 QQ9 



During this time, the mean of the temperatures observed is as low as - 36 F., while in the screen at the 

 ship it is found to have been -8'4F., or 27'7 higher. Captain SCOTT recorded his maximum tempera- 

 ture, - 25 F., at 2 p.m. on the 3rd April, when the thermometer in the screen at the ship showed - 7-8 F., 

 and his minimum temperature, - 47 F., at 9 p.m. on the 2nd April, when the screened thermometer at 

 the ship was not lower than - 9 '2 F. 



The " Southern Cross " Expedition was in Winter Quarters at Cape Adare during March and April, 1899, " Southern Cross," 



Cape Adare 1809 

 and a comparison of the results of the observations obtained there in those months with those of the March and April. ' 



"Discovery" in McMurdo Sound in 1902 may be of interest. 



In regard to the site of the station at Cape Adare, a headland at the extremity of a peninsula about 



