I 8 POLAR PROBLEMS 



In this connection, however, it is to be noted that the Arctic Sea 

 communicates directly with both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans — 

 through the Greenland Sea (or North European Sea) with the former 

 and through Bering Strait with the latter. But, relatively, the 

 connection through Bering Strait is shallow and narrow. In so far, 

 therefore, as the interaction of the tides of the adjacent oceans is 

 concerned, the Arctic is open only to the Atlantic. 



In 1904 Harris brought together a number of scattered observa- 

 tions on the tides in the Arctic for the purpose of constructing a 

 cotidal map of this sea, i. e. a map showing the progress of the tide. 

 For certain regions the data were extremely meager. For example, 

 along the north coast of Siberia from the mouth of the Yenisei River 

 eastward to Pitlekai on the Chukchi Peninsula — a distance repre- 

 sented by more than 100 degrees of longitude — ^there were no tidal 

 observations of any kind. The observations at hand were sufficient, 

 nevertheless, to show that the tide in the Arctic Sea was of the semi- 

 daily type and to indicate clearly that the rise and fall here were due 

 primarily to the Atlantic Ocean tide sweeping in through the Green- 

 land Sea.^ 



A number of tidal features, however, were very puzzling. Thus, 

 the observations showed that flood at Point Barrow, on the Arctic 

 coast of Alaska, instead of coming from the north, as one would expect 

 if the tide from the Greenland Sea progressed across a deep unobstruc- 

 ted polar basin, came from the west. Moreover, while the tide at 

 Point Barrow was only about half a foot in range, at Bennett Island, 

 situated about 1000 miles westward but not much nearer the Green- 

 land Sea, the range was two feet or more. 



Now if in the unexplored area of the Arctic one assumes the 

 existence of an obstruction to the progress of the tide these perplexing 

 features become explicable. And on the basis of this investigation 

 Harris constructed a cotidal chart for the Arctic Sea.^ This repre- 

 sents the tide coming from the Atlantic Ocean through the Greenland 

 Sea; but instead of progressing toward Alaska directly across the pole, 

 the tide is shown as deflected to the east by a large land obstruction. 



There were other facts enumerated by Harris which appeared 

 to strengthen the conclusion, based on the tides, of a land obstruction 

 to the north of Alaska. Thus, the directions of drift of the Frani 

 and of the Jeannette, the belief in the existence of Keenan Land 

 and Crocker Land, and the character of the ice in different parts of 

 the Arctic appeared to confirm it. 



^ idem: Manual of Tides, Part IV B: Cotidal Lines for the World, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 

 Rept. for the Year Ending July i, 1903, to June 30, 1904, Washington, 1904, Appendix 5 (pp. 313- 

 400); reference on pp. 381-389 and Figs. 23, 24, 25, and 26. 



^ ibid.. Figs. 23, 25, and 26. 



