298 POLAR PROBLEMS 



tudes 645^° S. and 71^° S.^ In other years this "moving refrigerator" 

 is only 200 miles wide about the same period. If we refer to the rain 

 map for Australia for 191 1 (Fig. 9) we find that it was a very good year 

 in eastern Australia. Perhaps the extra cooling led to greater rains than 

 usual. Turning how to the charts made by Captain J. K. Davis of the 

 pack ice along the north coast of the Antarctic Continent (Fig. 11) we 

 see that in 19 14 the pack ice remained attached to the fixed glacier ice 

 of the continent in a remarkable fashion. It was 60 or 70 miles wider 

 than in the year 191 2. Presumably in 19 14 Australian conditions 

 were therefore not affected by the usual approach of large areas of 

 pack ice, and this in part probably accounted for the abnormal char- 

 acter of the rainfall of 19 14 in Australia — for it was almost the 

 lowest on record. 



APPLICATION OF POLAR FRONT THEORY TO THE 

 SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 



In conclusion attention may be drawn 

 of Bjerknes' theory of the polar front to 



Trade Wind 



Fig. 12 — Atmospheric circulation in the southern hemis- 

 phere south of the trade wind belt according to the polar 

 front theory showing the belt of lows (L) surrounding the 

 Antarctic anticyclone (H). (Slightly modified from E. 

 Kidson, paper cited in footnote 6.) 



to an interesting application 

 Antarctic conditions. This 

 appears in an address by 

 Captain Kidson given in 

 Wellington, N. Z.^ His 

 diagram (Fig. 12) seems to 

 link up many lines of evi- 

 dence. The permanent 

 anticyclone at the pole is 

 indicated, and also a belt 

 of anticyclones revolving 

 around the pole at about 

 latitude 40°. The low- 

 pressure belt is traversed 

 by "families" of cyclones 

 of varying intensities and 

 at varying latitudes but 

 chiefly around latitude 60°. 

 Fluctuating tongues of 

 warm air from the tropics 

 are depicted as forming 

 warm wave fronts which 



8 See the map in the writer's book "With Scott: The Silver Lining," London, 1916, p. 77. 



9 Edward Kidson: The Theory of the Polar Front (President's Address, Section A), Rept. i6lk 

 Meeting Australasian Assn. for the Advancetnent of Sci., Wellington Meeting, 1923, Wellington, 1924, 

 pp. 140-153; reference on p. 151. [A paper on the same topic was presented at the first meeting of the 

 International Association for the Exploration of the Arctic by Airship held in Berlin in November, 

 1926, and has appeared in its proceedings, viz. P. Wehrle and P. Schereschewsky (Shereshevski) : 

 Sur le front polaire austral, Ergdnzungsheft No. igi zu Petermanns Mitt., 1927, pp. 77-84. In a footnote 

 the authors raise the question of priority. As a matter of fact Captain Kidson's presentation at the 

 Wellington Meeting took place in January, 1923. — Edit. Note.] 



