ARCTIC TIDES 1 9 



Nansen's conclusion that deep water extended continuously 

 from Spitsbergen to Alaska, which had been generally accepted, 

 was based on entirely different considerations. The challenge of 

 Harris' hypothesis therefore stimulated interest not only in the 

 problems of Arctic tides but also in the larger problems of polar 

 exploration. The possibility of discovering a large land mass gave 

 an added zest to Arctic exploration. When in 1908 Peary set out 

 on his successful dash to the pole, he was directed to secure tidal 

 observations along the northern coasts of Grant Land and Green- 

 land because it was believed "that such observations might throw 

 light upon the possible existence of a 'considerable land mass in the 

 unknown area of the Arctic Ocean.' "^ 



In 191 1 Harris published his "Arctic Tides. "^ Here opportunity 

 was afforded for a detailed discussion of all the available tide ob- 

 servations in the Arctic and for the publication of a revised cotidal 

 map (here reproduced as Fig. i). In addition to the observations 

 extant in 1904, he now had for the Arctic Sea additional observations 

 on the northern coasts of Grant Land and Greenland by Peary, 

 at Flaxman Island on the northern coast of Alaska by Mikkelsen 

 and Leffingwell, at Cape Flora and Teplitz Bay in Franz Josef Land 

 by the Ziegler Polar Expedition, and some others. But even after 

 this discussion he still found it necessary to assume an obstruction 

 between Spitsbergen and Alaska in order to unite the scattered ob- 

 servations into a coherent system. It is to be noted, however, that 

 this obstruction is now designated by Harris "a tract of land, an 

 archipelago, or an area of shallow water. "^ 



Subsequent Tidal Observations 



The decade following brought no further light on this problem 

 of Arctic tides. The Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-1918 

 under Stefansson secured observations on the northern coast of 

 Alaska and on some of the islands eastward.^ These helped in de- 

 termining the local characteristics of the tide but were not within 

 the region requisite for throwing light on the progress of the tide 

 across the unexplored area. Russian observations on the Arctic 

 coast of Siberia were known to have been rnade,^" but the results 

 were not available until recently. 



6 R. E. Peary: The North Pole, New York, 1910, p. 339. 



' R. A. Harris: Arctic Tides, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, 1911, with map, 

 Cotidal Lines for the Arctic Regions, i: 10,500,000. 



8 ibid., p. 90. 



' W. Bell Dawson: Tidal Investigations and Results, Report of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 

 1913-18, Vol. 10: Plankton, Hydrography, Tides, etc.. Part C, Ottawa, 1920. 



1" R. A. Harris: Undiscovered Land in the Arctic Ocean, Amer. Museum Journ., Vol. 13, 1913, 

 pp. 57-61 ; reference on p. 58. 



