44 FRIDTJOF NANSEN. M.-N. Kl. 



was just one of those periods which, according to our observations, occurred 

 at certain intervals, when there was no relative movement of the water, 

 at all levels between the surface and the water strata near the bottom. 

 During the same time observations of the drift of the ship were made with 

 a sounding-line and the lead lying on the bottom, between 3.10 and 4.20 

 p. m. ; giving an average drift of the ship of 25.6 cm. per second towards 

 S 34 W (magn.). Between 4.10 and 4.20 p.m. the drift of the ship should have 

 had a velocity of 23.4 cm. per second in the same direction, according to 

 these observations with the sounding-line. At this last hour the sounding- 

 line formed, however, a very great angle with the vertical, and it is impos- 

 sible to calculate the curve of the line; it is possible that the strain of the line 

 would cause more to be paid out, even if the ship were not moving. The 

 observations must therefore be considered as very unreliable. They might, 

 however, indicate that the ship was actually drifting, approximately towards 

 S34W, between 3.10 and 4.20 p.m., while the observations with the 

 current-meter gave no relative movement of the water between the surface 

 and 540 metres. If this be correct the whole volume of water, from the 

 surface down to this depth, should consequently have been moving with a 

 perfectly uniform velocity south-westwards, and in that case the observa- 

 tions with the deepest current-meter did not give the drift of the ship 

 correctly. 



That the values of the drift, obtained by these observations with the 

 lead and the sounding-line, are not trustworthy, however, also appears prob- 

 able from the fact that when a heavier sounding-lead was used, so that the 

 line could be kept tigther, then much smaller velocities of the drift were 

 obtained. At first an ordinary lead, weighing less than 10 kilograms, was 

 used, but then on August 5th, between 6.40 and 7.50 p. m. a lead of 20 

 kilograms was used, and the line was kept much tighter. The result was 

 an average velocity of 12.1 cm. per second only, though at that time the 

 drift was comparatively rapid, as was shown by the observations at the 

 depths of 50 and 100 metres; while earlier on the same day, between 3.10 

 and 4.20 p. m., the observations with the lighter lead gave an average 

 velocity of 25.6 cm. per second when the current-meter showed no motion 

 between the surface and 540 metres. It is, however, probable that after 

 the tightening of the line at 7.05 p. m., the heavy lead has got loosened, 

 and has been dragged along the bottom. The observation between 6.40 

 and 7.05 p. m. gave 20.1 cm. per second, which agrees fairly well with 

 the observation with the current-meter at 520 metres between 6.19 and 

 6.29 J /4 p. rn., giving a velocity of 15.3 cm. per second, considering that 

 the value of the velocity obtained by the sounding-line has to be reduced 



