1915- No. 2. 



SPITSBERGEN WATERS. 



Station 19, the depth of the sea varied between 626 and 572 metres; 

 during August i8th and i9th, at Station 41, the depth varied between 540 

 and 340 metres. 



The drift of the ice and the ship was determined by a current-meter 

 lowered to the deep water-strata as near the bottom as we dared go with- 

 out running the risk of dragging the current-meter along the bottom, which 

 actually happened once when there had been an unexpected great change 

 in the depth. During August i8th and i9th observations were taken as 



Fig- 35- The Veslemoy moored to an ice-floe for current-measurements. Stat. 41, Aug. i8th, 1912. 



often as possible simultaneously with two current-meters, one in the strata 

 near the bottom, and one at some higher level. 



By means of these simultaneous observations the actual movement of 

 the water at the latter level may be computed by a simple construction, 

 provided that the water near the bottom has no appreciable movement. 

 In this case the observations in the water-strata ne^ the bottom give 

 directly the velocity of the ship, and the direction in which she is drifting. 

 A line is drawn with a length corresponding to the velocity observed, and 

 in the observed direction, and from the end of this line another is drawn 

 with a length and direction corresponding to the velocity and direction 

 of the relative movement observed at another depth. The length and direc- 



