ANTARCTIC OCEANOGRAPHY 283 



great depths to ice erosion is to overestimate the effect of this agency, 

 which surely cannot exert such an influence under water, because ice 

 in the sea is buoyed up by the water and its pressure on the ground is 

 thus diminished. Wordie's explanation possibly meets the conditions 

 in Weddell Sea but not the general distribution of the great shelf-sea 

 depths. This Nordenskj old's explanation tries to do, but it suffers 

 from the fact that the widespread Antarctic shelves still persist in their 

 deep-lying position today, although they have been freed from the 

 pressure of the inland ice. It is also of importance to note that the 

 shelves of the Antarctic are very wide throughout; a narrow shelf is 

 reported only from the west coast of Coats Land.^^ The depth and 

 width of these shelves must first be investigated more thoroughly in 

 order to find a satisfactory explanation for their peculiarities. At all 

 events, in the sea, too, Antarctic nature proper ends at the outer edge of 

 these shelves, as well with respect to temperature and salinity as with 

 respect to many organic phenomena. Therefore it is justifiable to re- 

 gard the Antarctic Continent as extending to the outer edge of the 

 shelf and to restrict the term "The Antarctic " to this area, as the drift- 

 ice belt over the continental slope beyond is of an entirely different 

 nature — sub-Antarctic, indeed, in character. Therefore the somewhat 

 infelicitous name "Antarctica" for the continent is unnecessary, as 

 according to natural conditions only the continent with its shelf 

 should be called "The Antarctic." 



Conclusion 



I cannot further discuss in this short paper the oceanographical 

 problems of the Antarctic, although many details remain to be con- 

 sidered, and must refer the reader to the published works of the 

 various expeditions. I have emphasized the most important matters 

 and shown how uniform is oceanic nature throughout the whole circuit 

 of the Antarctic and how in all its details it can be explained through 

 the conflict between the inland ice and the warmth of the tropical 

 seas. In this conflict the warmth, because of its greater areal distribu- 

 tion, is much the stronger, the inland ice being able only to modify 

 and divide the oceanic influences of the tropics. 



■"i R. N. Rudmose Brown: The Weddell Sea, Geogr. Journ., Vol. 61, 1923, pp. I33-I3S- 



