VEGA-KXPEDITIOyENS VETENSKAPLIGA A It B ET EN. 



35] 



wélcJie tvarscheinlich von den nordöstlichen ttnd nördlichen Winden, 

 die den ganzen August hindurch geiveJd hatten, herbeigefiihrt sein 

 mochten.» 



The following extract from the meteorological journal ot" 

 the Nordenskiöld expedition in 1875 will give an idea of the 

 prevailing direction of the winds in August that year, which 

 was, as is well remembered, uncommonly favorable for navi- 

 gation. 



In calculating the following results I have left ont of 

 consideration all observations, wherein the force of the wind 

 is denoted by the numbers 1, 2 & 3 of the scale, because I 

 consider such winds to be too feeble to exert any remarkable 

 influence upon ocean-currents. 



From the 1*^' August until the 3'"'^ Sept., the wind blew: 



from NW during 8 hours with an average strength of 8 



;> ;> » » » 7 



» 2> "> » » 5 



> > » » » 4 



» >> » » » 6 



;> » » » » 6 



-•> :> » ^> » 5 



;> 3 '> ■:> :> 5. 



The following transumt is taken from the observations of 

 the Vega-expedition, I'*' to 19*^ Aug., 1878. 



wind from N during 24 hours with an average strength of 5 



I » » » » » 5 



> » » » » »5 



> » » » » » 5 

 ' » » » » »5 



» » » » » 8. 



Still there is a remarkable item to the above rule in the 

 following circumstance. The aforesaid winds from N and NE, 

 although highly efifective in clearing the main 2)cirt oi the Kura 

 Sea from ice, may still be a hindrance to navigation by drifting 

 the remainder of the ice towards the shore of Waigatch and 

 thereby closing the Kära- and the Yugor strait until late in 

 summer. Nordenskiöld ascribes ^ the delay caused by the 

 ice, on his second voyage to the Yenisei in 1876 with the 

 Ymer, to the cold weather and the prevailing unfavorable 

 winds from E and NE. But we can on the other side ascribe 



^ Vegas fiird kring Asien och Europa, Swedish Edition, page 15. 



