6i8 



NA TURE 



[Al'RIL 30, 190!:, 



THE SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE VOYAGE 



OF THE S.Y. " SCOTIA.'" 

 T^HE results of the meteorological, magnetical, and tidal 

 ■'• observations made by the Scottish National Antarctic 

 Expedition have novi' been published under the editorship 

 of the leader. Dr. W. S. Bruce. This part of the work 

 of the expedition was organised by Mr. R. C. Mossman. 



The instrumental outfit was complete, well selected, and 

 carefully standardised. Thus the barometers were com- 

 pared with the Meteorological Office standard before and 

 after the expedition, with the Argentine standard in 

 January, 1904, with the Cape standard in May, 1904, and 

 with the lighthouse barometer at the Falkland Islands. 



Whilst at sea, and north of lat. 30° S., the meteor- 

 ological observations were made four times a day. South 

 of lat. 30° S. they were made hourly. From April to 

 October, 1903, the Scolia was frozen up in Scotia Bay, 

 Laurie Island, South Orkneys, and the observations were 



and to use the observations talien on that set which was 

 to the windward, the heating effect of the ship fires being 

 sufficient to cause those instruments on the leeward side 

 to read one or two degrees too high. 



During the summer cruise of 1902-3 the Wcddell Sea 

 was filled with pack ice as far north as lat. 60° S., whilst 

 in the next summer the Scotia reached Coats Land, lat. 

 72° S., without meeting any obstacle. 



Comparison of observations made in the Weddell Sea 

 with those made at Snow Hill, Graham's Land, shows that 

 in February and March the pressure and temperature an' 

 higher than at Snow Hill. The cloud amount is also high, 

 for during 81 per cent, of the time during which observa- 

 tions were made the sky was overcast, and only 3 per 

 cent, of the time cloudless. 



The observations at the South Orkneys were under thr 

 direction of the Scottish expedition only eleven months 

 (April, 1903, to February, 1904), and were continued undir 

 the auspices of the Argentine Republic. By permission of 



V of Copebnd Observatory, Centr.il C.i 



,e, Sc 



1 Bay. Reduced from a Report of the : 



hh Xa 



al .\nt.irctic Kxpedition. 



made on the ship. On November i the instruments were 

 transferred to a stone hut which had been erected and 

 called " Omond House." The observations were con- 

 tinued here while the ship went to Buenos Ayres to refit. 



Besides the observations actually made by the staff of 

 the expedition, the report also includes observations made 

 at Cape Pembroke lighthouse. The Scotia took out to 

 this lighthouse a number of instruments from the Meteor- 

 ological Office, and the lighthouse keeper or his assistant 

 made readings every four hours. The lighthouse was 

 used by the Scotia as a base station. 



In the discussion of the observations taken av sea, refer- 

 ence is made to the fact that it was necessary to have 

 two sets of thermometers, one on each side of the ship, 



^ Pcotlish National Antarctic Expedition. Report on the Scientilic 

 Results of the Voyage of the S.Y. Sia/m durin? the Years 1902,- 1903, and 

 1904, under the leadership of W S. Bliire. Vol. ii., Physics. Pp. xvi-l-324, 

 Edinburgh : Scottish Oceanograph'.cal Labo-altry, 1907.) Pries i/. is. 



NO. 2000, VOL. 77] 



the Argentine meteorological director, Mr. Mossmann has 

 been able to discuss observations taken during 1904, and 

 records the mean temperature as 22°-7, the lowest reading 

 being —26°, in June, 1903. The diurnal range of tempera- 

 ture varies from i°-i in autumn to 3°-2 in spring. 



It was noted that, whereas on the eastern coast ol 

 Graham's Land the easterly winds are very conspicuous, 

 the winds at Scotia Bay had only a very small easterly 

 component. 



.As the expedition was not originally arranged with the 

 intention of making magnetical observations, the only 

 instruments taken were a portable magnetometer and a 

 dip circle. There being no special non-magnetic area on 

 the Scotia, no observations w'ere made at sea. 



A wooden hut erected not far from Omoiid House, and 

 called the Copeland Observatory, was used to shelter these 

 instruments. The observations were made under very 

 adverse conditions. It was often found that the magneto- 



