430 



Tin 1 mean force nf the wind during these four winter months ;it the German station conies out at I .'! of 

 tlie Beaufort scale. The prevailing wind was from east l>y north, the percentage of frequency of winds 

 from that point being 43. But 12 '6 per cent, of the winds were from east; 3 -8 per cent, from east )>y 

 south; 7 7 per cent, from east-south-east ; and 12-9 per cent, of the observations for wind came under 

 the head " calm." 



On 79 days the force of the wind rose to 6 or 7, .and on 38 of these days to 8, or above 8. 



There were 5 days noted as cloudless, when the amount of cloud was less than 2, and 72 cloudy days, 

 when the amount of cloud exceeded 8. 



There were 101 days on which rain, snow, or -snow drift, was entered. 



In regard to the sequence of weather during the gales experienced at the German Antarctic station, 

 Dr. GAZEKT says : 



" The course of the gales, especially the heavy Winter ones, was as follows : With a falling barometer 

 and a wind springing up, or freshening from east, we noticed in that direction a bank of dark clouds, from 

 which fragments were given off, which soon covered the whole sky. The wun disappeared, often having 

 previously been surrounded by halos and mock suns. The barometer fell slowly at first, then more 

 rapidly, frequently with a sharp curve. Thus we observed from (he beginning to the climax of a gale on 

 the 30th July to the 1st August a fall of 35 millims. (1-378 inches) in 52 hours, when the minimum 

 reading of 706 '3 millims. (27-808 inches) was reached. The mercury fell almost us much in 30 hours, on 

 August 9 to 10, on which occasion, in the middle of a fall, a pause of 4 hours took place. On the 

 22nd August it fell 16 millims. (0-630 inch) in 22 hours ; and, on the 12th and 13th October, 27 millims. 

 (1-063 inches) in 32 hours. 



" As the storm progressed the wind increased more and more ; driving snow filled the air, most thickly 

 near the surface of the ground, and movement against the wind soon became a great effort; nothing could 

 be seen for the driving snow from which we had to protect our faces. The ship was often invisible by 

 day at a distance of 40 to 50 metres (44 to 55 yards), and in the worst storms at even a shorter 

 distance. 



" The gale reached its climax occasionally in a few hours, but usually in from 24 to 48 hours, and 

 remained at its height for 12 to 24 hours, being of a squally character. In the quiet intervals the force 

 was possibly 3, in the squalls 11. These squalls appeared on the barograph curve in the form of a saw- 

 like jagged line. 



" It was at this stage, as a rule, that the air pressure reached its maximum. With a decreasing but 

 squally wind the barometer began to rise. A slow rise was a good sign, a quick rise a bad one, as it 

 usually meant an equally quick fall and another gale. With the decrease of the wind the driving snow 

 lessened and we frequently could see the sun, or stars, faintly shining. 



"The storm was often followed by a period of bad weather which was a longer or shorter prelude to 

 another gale, or to better weather. 



" The temperature always began to rise with the beginning of the gale, and only readied its maximum, 

 as a rule, when the gale commenced to moderate, or in the unsettled weather period which followed, and 

 was also characterised by easterly winds. If the gales followed at short intervals, the temperature did 

 not fall at all in the pauses; at times it even rose, the rise accompanied by a lighter east wind. 



" The storms usually lasted 3 to 5 days, the intervals between the gales varied, sometimes being only 

 12 to 24 hours, with wind force 5 to 7 ; this was especially the case during August. The influence of the 

 easterly wind upon the temperature was considerable ; during easterly winds the temperature often rose to 

 - 14 C., - 13 C., and - 11 C. (6 -8 F., 8 -6 F., and 12 -2 F.). An increase in the mean temperature 

 of May, as compared with that of April, was attributed to the strong easterly gules which occurred in the 

 former month." 



Lying to the south of the westerly winds of the Southern (Venn, and at the extreme limits of the 

 southern segment of those low-pressure areas which move from west to east with the westerly air current 

 of the Southern Hemisphere, the Winter Quarters of the German Anlan -tic Expedition was exceptionally 

 well situated as an observing station from a meteorological point of view. 



It has been thought by meteorologists, who have attacked the problem, that, associated with the 



