ie) 
NATURE 
[Marcu 7, 1912 
get a clear idea of the past work and future pro- 
gramme, I quote from information that Mr. Roald 
Amundsen has been good enough to send me which 
has been furnished to him by Captain Nilsen, the 
commander of the Fram :— 
““We left Buenos Aires,’’ says Captain Nilsen, ‘‘ on 
June 8, 1911, exactly one year after our departure from 
Horten (Norway), on our first oceanographic voyage to the 
northern part of the South Atlantic. The pilot accompanied 
us to Montevideo, where we stopped until Sunday morning, 
June 11, on account of a ‘ pamperos’ (south-westerly wind 
very violent), when we continued our way in the Atlantic 
Ocean in good order. The weather hindered us from 
beginning the sounding before June 17, but from that day 
everything went on all right. We commenced first with 
sounding, taking also water samples and temperatures 
down to 2000 metres; but this took us eight hours, and 
as during this time we had to stop with fixed sails, one- 
third of the twenty-four hours passed. Time being short, 
as we would have to leave Buenos Aires about October 1, 
we could only get on a short distance in the Atlantic if we 
had to continue this work, and it was necessary, there- 
fore, to abandon sounding altogether, and we took 
observations down to 1000 metres only. We sailed from 
the La Plata River in a line approximately straight 
towards 9° E. longitude and about 21° S. latitude; we 
arrived here on July 22, and sailed towards St. Helena, 
which we passed on the evening of July 29. We con- 
tinued to South Trinidad, which we passed very close to 
on August 12. On August 25 we finished the oceano- 
graphic observations in about 25° S. latitude and 40° W. 
longitude. All in all, we have had sixty stations, and 
have collected 891 water samples, which will probably be 
sent home by the Kronpringzessin Viktoria. We have also 
about 200 bottles of plankton. 
““We returned to Buenos Aires at midnight on 
September 1. During the whole time the weather has 
been fair, and our course was fixed according to the winds; 
we sailed eastward to Africa by almost steady northerly 
and north-westerly winds that lasted exactly four weeks, 
and during this time the motor was at a complete stand- 
still. In order to cover as even distances as possible, we 
sailed at a rate of 4 to 5 knots. As we had to take in 
the sails at each station, they got so worn that they 
scarcely kept together at last; and I had no mind to use 
our second set of sails, that ought to be in tip-top order 
when we got into the ‘ roaring forties.’ 
““The voyage has in every respect been a good one for 
the Fram; her motor has been thoroughly examined and 
cleaned during the long rest, the rigging looked after, all 
iron has been cleaned for rust, and the vessel has been 
painted all over; the Fram looks finer now than she did 
when she was new. The stores have been arranged, 
registered, and cleaned, and the sailmaker, Rénne, has 
been sewing sails, &c., from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 
several alterations and modifications have been made by 
the chief engineer, Lundbeck, who is a man and an 
engineer of the first order.” 
This is the chief information received from Captain 
Amundsen. 
It seems almost a pity that a vessel so well fitted 
for oceanographical research as the Fram is, in higher 
latitudes, worked north instead of south of 40° S., for 
with the exception of the Scotia’s hydrographical 
observations south of 40° S., little has been done in 
oceanographical research in high southern Jatitudes in 
the Atlantic Ocean, whereas north of that latitude the 
Challenger and subsequent expeditions have done 
much to add to our knowledge of those seas. 
Some important observations have, however, been 
made south of 40° S. by the Deutschland. 
The Fram is not expected to carry out any oceano- 
graphical research in her circumpolar voyage—she 
will only just have enough time to fetch the landing 
party, and again regret must be expressed that time 
has not been allowed to carry out such researches in 
those high southern latitudes by an ice-protected ship. 
Nothing is yet decided as to 1912, but Mr. Roald 
NO. 2210, VOL. 89| 
Amundsen does not think it likely that the Fram will 
proceed across the North Polar Basin before 1913, as 
that depends on the funds available. 
Four other expeditions are also carrying on re- 
searches in the south polar regions, namely, an Aus- 
tralian one under Dr. Douglas Mawson, a German 
one under Lieutenant Dr. Filchner, a Japanese 
one under Lieutenant Shirasé, and last, but not least, 
the Argentine expedition, which sailed for the South 
Orkneys to continue the meteorological and magnet- 
ical work initiated by the Scottish expedition at Scotia 
Bay in 1903, and continued by the Oficina Meteoro- 
logica Argentina since 1904 at an annual cost of about 
6000l. With regard to the Japanese expedition, prac- 
tically no news has reached Europe, and, indeed, notice 
that the expedition left Sydney on November 19, 1911, 
came as rather a surprise, as it was thought that 
after being so hopelessly late in the previous season 
they would not for the present attempt further work. 
Whatever are the aims of the present Japanese expedi- 
tion, the writer has reason to believe that we may 
expect Japan to take a very prominent part in 
Antarctic exploration of a purely scientific kind before 
many years are past. The work of the German expedi- 
tion lies in the Weddell Sea in longitudes west of 
Coat’s Land, Dr. Filchner having generally agreed 
with the writer that the region to the east of this should 
be left for the proposed Scottish expedition. If, how- 
ever, the Germans fail on account of conditions of ice 
or other difficulties to carry on their work to the 
west of this longitude, it is quite understood that they 
are to be free to work to the eastward. So far as 
the writer is concerned, he is of opinion that it is 
not in the interests of science that an expedition 
actually in the field should be hampered in any way 
by reserving an area for another expedition which has 
not so far succeeded in raising all the necessary funds. 
The area of the unknown Antarctic regions is so vast 
that there is plenty of room for all-comers, and more 
especially so if there is a division of labour in the 
work. 
There are two prominent theories of the structure 
of Antarctic lands. Filchner bases the plan of his 
expedition upon the theory held by himself, Dr. 
Penck, Dr. Otto Nordenskjéld, Sir George Darwin, 
and others, that there are two Antarctic land masses 
which are divided from each other by a channel pos- 
sibly covered by a continuation of the Ross Barrier 
running across from the Ross Sea to the Weddell Sea, 
thus dividing Graham Land from the rest of the 
land. The other prominent theory, which has for 
long been held by Sir John Murray, and is sup- 
ported by Sir Ernest Shackleton, Dr. Mawson, and 
myself, is that there is one great Antarctic continental 
land mass with no such division across it. A third 
theory, held by Dr. Nansen, is that the Antarctic land 
is composed of an archipelago of islands. Ina paper * 
delivered to Der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden 
Gesellschaft at Basel in 1910, I summarised my 
reasons for holding the view that there was one great 
Antarctic continent. 
Having a definite theory of the structure of the 
Antarctic continent, Filchner sets out to test the 
accuracy of it. His confidence augurs well for the 
success of the German expedition. ‘‘ Morgen friih 10 
Uhr (also am 10 December) gehen wir,”’ says he, ‘in 
See nach dem Eis mit rein stidlichem Kurs bis zum 
Auftreffen auf die Eisbarre und folgen ihrem nérd- 
lichen Rande, dann so lange Gstlich, bis wir sie 
durchqueren kénnen.”” This confident assurance 
reaches us from South Georgia, from which place 
1 “Uber die Fortsetzung des antarctischen Festlands zwischen Fnderby- 
land, Coatsland und Grahamland, sowie das Vorhandensein im Morrells- 
land.” Von Herrn Dr. William S. Bruce, Direktor der Scottish Oceano- 
graphical Laboratory. 
