Marcu 7, 1912] 
NATURE 
19 
I have had word from Lieutenant Dr. Filchner and 
Dr. Heim, geologist to the expedition. They inform 
me that they have so far had a successful voyage, 
having landed at St. Paul’s Rocks, and having 
already taken as many as eighty soundings. Several 
of them appear to have been taken in the neighbour- 
hood of South Geor;ia and the South Sandwich Group, 
and these will form a most important contribution to 
the study of former Antarctic continental connections 
with South America. ‘‘Storm and stress of weather 
hindered every attempt at landing on the South Sand- 
wich Group,” and in this connection it is interesting 
to note that this heavy weather was previously pre- 
dicted by Mr. R. C. Mossman at Buenos Aires. 
Prof. Penck, who has been good enough to furnish 
me with much useful information, says :—‘‘* Reaching 
the pole does not form a special feature of the pro- 
gramme.’ He also writes saying that Filchner will 
establish a station to the west of 
Coat’s Land, and will not leave the 
the slate of Possessions Bay. Bad weather prevented 
pendulum observations, but earth magnetic elements 
were determined. : 
It took from November 1 to 14 to go from South 
Georgia to the South Sandwich Group. A course was. 
first steered to Lieskow Island; the Deutschland then 
passed Candlemas Island, and left the group at 
Zavadowskij Island. Some of these islands are ex- 
tinct, and others active, volcanoes. The rocks 
appeared to be basaltic. Volcanic sand containing 
basaltic fragments was secured by sounding. 
Meteorological and other observations were made, 
and it is especially interesting to note that for the 
first time in Antarctic regions ballons-sondes, as used 
by the Prince of Monaco in Spitsbergen, were 
employed, since in South Georgia sixty-five of these 
balloons were released. These were traced to a 
height of 9 kilometres, or 29,528 ft., and should give 
Antarctic regions until the summer 
of 1913-14. 
A most important line of sixteen 
soundings* has been taken from 
Monte Video to South Georgia and 
the South Sandwich Group which 
confirms the existence of deep water 
of 2500 fathoms which the writer 
supposed existed there* between 
g5°'S., 520sSeeand 21° and 55° ‘W: 
Filchner extends this 3000-fathoms 
vater to a point west of South 
Georgia, where he obtained a sound- 
ing of 3064 fathoms. This sound- 
ing, along with one of 2358 fathoms 
and a second of 2413 fathoms 
Filchner considers to the west of 
South Georgia, precludes the possi- 
bility of a ‘“‘rise’’ (unterseeische 
Verbindung) between South Georgia 
and the South Sandwich Group, 
but another sounding of 1787 
fathoms between Lieskow Island and 
South Georgia seems to confirm, to 
my mind, the existence of such a 
rise. Close to Candlemas Island 
478 fathoms was obtained, and y 
depths of 1144 and 1757 fathoms 7 
were obtained close to the group, 
just as the Scotia sounded in 1745 
fathoms 15 miles off the South 
Orkneys. 
Although the deeper water from 
Scott 
Mawson 
ps Amundsen 
Filchner " 
Argentina 
Stations X 
WA 
A 
APPROXIMATE ROUTES. 
the north dips rather further south 
than it was previously supposed to 
do, the suggestion that there is no 
“rise’’ is worth consideration as leading to the 
possibility of the Sandwich Group being cut off from 
the South American-Graham Land connection, and 
indicates the great importance of more soundings to 
the south of South Georgia. Quite extensive and 
interesting geological excursions were made in South 
Georgia, which were facilitated by Captain Larsen 
lending the German expedition his 500-ton yacht 
Undine. The Germans have found that South 
Georgia is a folded mountain range, probably part of 
the Faltengebirge of the South American Andes and 
Graham Land. The tuffs found by Gunnar Ander- 
sen in 1902 are found to be old Mesozoic and young 
Paleozoic tuffs. Dr. Kénig found an ammonite in 
% Zeitschrift der Gesell. f. Evdkunde su Berlin, 1912, No. 2. 
4“ Bathymetrical Survey of South Atlantic Ocean and Weddell Sea.” 
By Wm. S. Bruce. With Map and Illustrations. Scot. Geog. Mag., 
August, 1905. 
NO. 2210, VOL. 89] 
Stanfords Geog! Estab’ London. 
valuable information regarding atmo- 
sphere in the south polar regions. 
Whether Filchner succeeds in pushing far to the 
south to the west of Coat’s Land, where he believes 
he will be able to land on a barrier similar to and 
continuous with the Ross Barrier, depends on the 
state of the ice in the Weddell Sea, and Mossman 
unfortunately predicts a series of bad ice years. If 
Filchner meets the pack as Ross met it in 1842-43, 
and as the Scottish expeditions met it in 1892-93 and 
in 1902-03, in which latter season also Nordenskjéld’s 
ship, the Antarctic, was crushed and lost, he will not 
attain a high latitude to the west of Coat’s Land, but 
if he has an open summer, as Morrell and Weddell had 
in 1822-23, he will get far south, and will fall in with 
land somewhere about 75° S., if the supposed rift 
75 : : 
valley from the Ross Sea does not exist. Filchner 
the higher 
| will also in all probability then be able to prove the 
