THE SWEDISH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION. 475 



here faintly developed, and in consequence a veiy large part of the 

 section is occupied by the bottom water, the temperature of which is 

 only 29.66^ to 29° Fahrenheit, the latter at the bottom itself. This 

 bottom temperature is somewhat below the minimum deep temperature 

 hitherto observed in the ocean (the Norwegian Sea, bottom tempera- 

 ture 29.3° Fahrenheit), and it is quite exceptional in the south polar 

 regions, the bottom temperature of the Antarctic Ocean being about 

 31° Fahrenheit. Evidently Bransfield Strait is an isolated l)asin, 

 separated from the open ocean by submarine shelves, which admit only 

 a very limited renewal of the warm water. Later on in the summer 

 we got more sections and single soundings in Bransfield Strait. The 

 maximum depth observed was 82t3 fathoms, near to Bridgeman Island. 



In January of the same year (1902), before establishing the winter 

 station. Doctor Nordenskiold, with the Antarctic, made a two days' 

 excursion along the coast of Graham Land southwest from Astrolabe 

 Island. As a result of this visit he was convinced that here runs 

 a continuous coast line, and that the Orleans channel of Dumont 

 d'Urville and the Belgica (later Gerlache) Strait of the Belgian expe- 

 dition form parts of the same far-extending channel. But the ques- 

 tion was in some principal points unsettled, because of the difficulty 

 of reaching an incontestable connection with the Belgian chart. Now, 

 we had to clear it up decisively, and in the time — November 26 to 

 December 5 — Lieutenant Duse carried out a surve}^ on the scale of 

 1:300,000 of the region between Astrohxbe Island and Cape Murray 

 (Cape Neyt of the Belgian chart). During this time the hard-working 

 cartographer arranged the course of the ship so as best to suit his sur- 

 vey, we other scientists taking the chances thus ofl'ered for our own 

 work. At every landing that Mr. Duse made to get bearings and 

 astronomical observations he was followed by the botanist and the 

 geologist; Mr. K. A. Andersson, in the meantime, Avith trawlings 

 from the ship, making collections of the luxuriant marine fauna. 

 These days in the Orleans channel we remember as a most happy 

 time of full and profitable activit}", the only regret being that the 

 larger mass of its rich collections no longer exists. 



On December .5, the survey of the Orleans Channel l)eing finished, 

 we headed for the sound between the mainland and floinville Island in 

 order to proceed to the winter station. Cheerfully we spoke of the 

 approaching meeting with Nordenskiokl and his comrades, and prepa- 

 rations were made for their reception on l)oard, ])ut ev(Mits turned out 

 far otherwise than we expected and man}^ a lonely day had to pass 

 before we reached our friends on Snow Hill. The sound inside Join- 

 ville Island we always found filled with heav}^, hummocky drift ice; 

 and Erebus and Terror Gulf, as far as we could sight it from the sound, 

 looked like a dazzling white plain without a single space of open water 



