I40 POLAR PROBLEMS 



and February. Beginning with April we may expect greater fluctua- 

 tions in the position of the edge of the Arctic Pack and accordingly 

 greater changes in the dimensions and shape of the polynya; this is 

 shown by the fact that the bordering fragments of ice mostly consist 

 of powerful pieces of spring ice. To our regret there have been no 

 winter explorations of the polynya, and all observations of this phe- 

 nomenon refer to March, April, and May and are not of a systematic 

 nature; therefore we have to base our consideration of the polynya on 

 more or less probable suppositions. 



The formation of the polynya is closely related to the position 

 and configuration of the coast in connection with the direction of the 

 motion of the Arctic Pack. Opposite the Siberian coast between longi- 

 tudes 1 80° and 130° E., in which stretch the existence of the polynya 

 is completely proved, there is every reason to suppose that the general 

 motion of the pack is directed from the coast to the northwest. As 

 to the other parts of the Arctic Ocean we may mention the following 

 facts. Lieutenant Cagni's sledge trip on the Duke of the Abruzzi's 

 expedition in 1900 north of Franz Josef Land from Crown Prince 

 Rudolf Island to 86° 33' N. established the fact that the drift of the 

 Arctic Pack is directed to the west along the northern coast, so to 

 speak, of Franz Josef Land. Accordingly Lieutenant Cagni's trip 

 furnishes no evidence of any special shock and pressure of the ice 

 against this shore nor of the existence of a polynya. The eastern coast 

 of Franz Josef Land, however, is subjected to the shock and pressure 

 of ice due to the westward direction of the motion of the Arctic Pack, 

 here also confirmed by Weyprecht and Payer's expedition. 



It should be noted that the sledge journeys of Nansen and Cagni 

 indicate a relatively weak pressure and shock of the ice within the 

 Arctic Pack, the motion of which west of the longitude of Franz Josef 

 Land has a western and southwestern direction, a motion which is 

 unimpeded by any obstacles and which is partly directed towards the 

 open Greenland Sea. 



Shock and pressure of the ice against the shore are known from the 

 northern coast of Greenland and the coast of Grant Land; they 

 are due to the motion of the Arctic Pack in relation to the position 

 of the coast. The sledge journeys by Markham and Parr of Nares's 

 expedition, by Lockwood and Brainard of the Greely expedition, and 

 the most recent explorations by Peary all point to a tremendous devel- 

 opment of hummocking and heaping up of the ice in the adjoining part 

 of the Arctic Ocean. It is true that Peary's explorations report the ex- 

 istence of polynyas beyond 84° N., i.e. within the region of the Arctic 

 Pack itself, but it seems that there are no signs of open water near the 

 coast mentioned. 



Under the influence of the southern current passing through 

 Robeson and Kennedy Channels into Kane Sea and farther through 



