MarcH 14, 1912] 
NATURE 
43 
degli Spettroscopisti Italiani, and indicates a general 
decrease of the solar activity, not only as compared 
with the preceding year, but also during 1911. The 
daily frequency of spots was 0'5, and of facule o'S, 
while on 196, or 64 per cent., of the days of observa- 
tion no spots were recorded. 
THE NORWEGIAN SOUTH POLAR 
EXPEDITION. 
AST Thursday we published an article by Dr. 
William S. Bruce on the Antarctic campaign, in 
which the plans of the several expeditions were 
described. The same day Captain Amundsen arrived 
at Hobart, Tasmania, and it became known in London 
late in the evening that he had reached the South 
Pole, and was returning. 
The news was made public by The Daily Chronicle, 
which also published the full narrative of Captain 
Amundsen’s journey. We congratulate our contem- 
porary upon its enterprise in this respect, and upon 
the excellent accounts it has given of polar explora- 
tion. The following facts are taken from the narra- 
tive published in The Daily Chronicle. 
The Attainment of the South Pole. 
Amundsen began his journey south on February ro, 
Ig11, and from this date to April 11 he established 
three depé6ts. The winter was spent in changing the 
entire outfit. The lowest temperature recorded during 
the expedition was —59° C. The mean temperature 
for the year 1911 was —26° C., Amundsen set out on 
the second journey on September 8, but had to return 
to await the arrival of spring. It was in the middle of 
October that the spring came in earnest. On 
October 31 the depét in lat. 81° S. was reached, that 
in 82° on November 5. On November g, 83° was 
attained, and depét number four established. On 
November 13 and 14, 84° S. and 85° S. were reached, 
and other depéts: established. On November 17 the 
barrier was reached, and climbing began, and many 
distressing experiences, of which Amundsen’s narra- 
tive tells. The concluding steps of the arduous enter- 
prise may thus be summarised. 
On December 6, 1911, Amundsen attained his 
greatest height, 10,750 ft., as measured by the hypso- 
meter and aneroid. This was at latitude 87° 14’ 
south. On December 9, 88° 39/ was reached, and on 
some following days the latitudes attained were as 
follows :—December 10, 88° 56’; December 11, 
89° 15’; December 12, 89° 30’; and December 13, 
80° 45/. 
On December 14 the Pole itself was reached, and 
the temperature recorded was —23° C. The plateau 
on which the Pole was located is a vast plain, alile 
in all directions, mile after mile. 
The following day, December 15, in fine weather, a 
series of observations, which lasted from 6 a.m. to 
7 p.m., were taken, the result giving 89° 55’. In 
order to observe the position of the Pole as closely as 
possible, Amundsen and his men travelled as near 
true south as they could for the remaining 9 kilo- 
metres. 
On December 16 four members of the expedition 
tool observations every hour of the day’s twenty- 
four. The exact result will be a matter for expert 
examination. 
Amundsen states he observed the position of the 
Pole as closely as it is in human power to do with the | 
instruments he had—sextant and artificial horizon. | 
The distance from the winter quarters to the Pole | 
was about 1400 kilometres, so that on an average | 
Amundsen’s party marched 25 kilometres a day. 
No news has yet been received from Captain Scott, 
NO. 2211, VOL. 89| 
| 
| 
whose base was 400 miles from Captain Amundsen’s, 
but it is possible that he has also reached the South 
Pole by another route. 
CONSIDERATION OF RESULTS. 
Captain Amundsen’s brilliant expedition has not 
only reached the South Pole, but appears to have 
settled the question of the possible connection between 
Ross Sea and Weddell Sea by a sea-filled rift valley 
passing to the east of the Pole. This hypothesis was 
maintained by Lieut. Filchner, and his plans for the 
present German Antarctic Expedition are based 
upon it. 
The general evidence seemed to be opposed to this 
theory, as was remarked in Nature (vol. Ixxxiii., 
p- 318). Subsequently Sir George Darwin announced 
that the tidal evidence appeared to indicate a direct 
sea way from the Ross Sea to the South Atlantic, and 
the great weight of this evidence in favour of Lieut. 
Filchner’s view was referred to in Nature of 
December 29, 1910. 
Captain Amundsen has now discovered that the 
barrier ice ends to the south in a “bight” in lat. 
86° and long. 163° W.; there may perhaps be some 
cable error in the latitude, as the discovery was made 
on November 11, when the explorers were at about 
833° S., and statements elsewhere in the report sug- 
sa the end of the barrier may be at about 
Be Sb 
The bight which forms the southern shore of the 
barrier appears to be formed by the union of the 
mountains that continue southward from South 
Victoria Land with a chain which trends southwest- 
ward, and which Captain Amundsen describes as 
probably the continuation of King Edward VII. 
Land. He does not, however, mention having seen 
any mountains on the eastern side of the barrier 
during the first part of the journey southward. 
Captain Amundsen climbed to the South Polar 
plateau further south than the Beardmore Glacier, by 
which Sir Ernest Shackleton reached it. The new 
route seems to have given an easier ascent; but after 
reaching the plateau its level was more undulating, 
as he crossed a series of glaciers which apparently 
flow eastward, and therefore may indicate that the 
Ross Sea is continued southward by a depression. 
Hence the hypothetical Transantarctic rift valley may 
possibly exist, but with its floor above sea-level. The 
strongest argument for it has, however, been dis- 
proved. 
Speculation on this question may, however, await 
the publication of the more detailed evidence as to the 
nature and trend of the new mountains discovered to 
the east and north-east of the Pole. 
The meteorological results also promise to be of 
special interest, for Captain Amundsen experienced 
fine weather and light breezes when on the South 
Polar. plateau. The fierce southern gales that 
hindered Sir Ernest Shackleton were perhaps excep- 
tional, for Captain Amundsen describes the ice on the 
plateau as level, and ‘‘only here and there marked 
with a tinv sastrugi.’”’ Captain Amundsen’s general 
results fully confirm the descriptions of Sir Ernest 
Shackleton. 
The outward journey, including the ascent to the 
| height of 10,500 ft., was made at the rate of 25 kilo- 
| metres a day, and the return at 36 kilometres. 
This 
high speed was probably due to the use of dogs, 
which have again shown their value in polar work. 
A party under Lieut. Prestud reached King Edward 
VII. Land, to the east of the Great Ice Barrier, and 
the geological collections made there may throw 
much light on the relations of that land to South 
Victoria Land. 
