June io, 19C9J 



NATURE 



445 



vfurs made many brilliant discoveries in the Antarctic, 

 including the continent of Antarctica by Charles Wilkes, 

 and. whereas the United States have not taken any part 

 in the recent scientific explorations of the South Polar 

 jegion, therefore be it resolved that the American Philo- 

 sophical Society requests the cooperation of the scientific 

 and geographical societies of the United States, to urge 

 •on the. navy of the United States and through the general 

 Government, that it do make sufficient appropriations to 

 fit a Government vessel thoroughly to explore and survey 

 ithe coast of Wilkes Land and other parts of Antarctica. 



(2) Whereas earthquakes have been the cause of great 

 Joss of life and property within the territory of the United 

 States and its possessions, as well as other countries, 

 ■and whereas it is only through the scientific investigation 

 of the phenomena that there is hope of discovering the 

 laws which govern them, so as to predict their occurrences 

 and to reduce the danger to life and property, and whereas 

 such investigations can be successfully conducted only 

 with the support of the general Government, be it there- 

 fore resolved that this society urges upon Congress the 

 <-stablishment of a national bureau of seismology, and 

 ■suggests that this bureau be organised 

 under the Smithsonian Institution with 

 Ithe active cooperation of the other 

 scientific departments of the Govern- 

 ment, and that this bureau be charged 

 with the following duties : — (a) the 

 ■collection of seismological data ; (b) the 

 establishment of observing stations ; 

 (c) the organisation of an expeditionary 

 •corps for the investigation of special 

 ■earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in 

 any part of the world ; (rf) the study 

 and investigation of special earthquake 

 regions within the national domain. 



The annual election of members, held 

 at the executive session on .\pril 24, 

 resulted in the election of the following 

 candidates : — Residents of the United 

 States: L. A. Bauer, M. T. Bogert, 

 H. C. Bumpus, A. Carrel, E. B. Frost, 

 R. A. Harper, W. H. Hobbs. A. V. W. 

 Jackson, J. F. Lewis, A. L. Lowell, 

 W. R. NewTjold, C. B. Penrose, W. H. 

 Taft, C. R. Van Hise, V. C. V.aughan. 

 Foreign residents : Francis Darwin, 

 H. Diels, E. Fischer, F. Kohlrausch, 

 W. F. P. Oteffer. 



The disturbance of the sea produced by the earthquake 

 was greatest along the opposite coasts of Italy and Sicily, 

 and much greater to the south than to the north of 

 the Straits of Messina. It was noticed all along the 

 northern coast of Sicily as far westwards as Termini, but 

 on the Italian coast the only record is from Vibonati, 

 where the sea is said to have been agitated for a short 

 time, and it is expressly stated that no sea wave was 

 noticed at Bagnara, Scilla, or anywhere north of 

 Cannitello, which is situated at the entrance to the straits. 

 The marine effects of the earthquake form the special sub- 

 ject of a note by Prof. G. Platania in the Rivista Geo- 

 grafica Ilaliana (vol. xv., 1909, p. 644), who gives some 

 particulars not mentionecl by Dr. Martinelli. The first 

 effect everywhere was a retreat of the sea, and then the 

 advance of a great wave, followed by two or three others 

 of decreasing amplitude, except at Catania and Giampileri, 

 where the second is said to have been greater than 

 the first. The height of the wave, as shown by the 

 marks left on buildings, was 2-70 m. at Messina, but 

 considerably higher at other places, the greatest rise 

 measured being 840 m. at Giardini and .'\li, and 8-50 m. 



THE ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE 

 OF DECEMBER 28, 1908. 



A PRELIMINARY account, based 

 "^ on material collected for the \ 



■oflicial report, on the Calabrian earth- 

 <iuake of December 28, 1908, by Dr. ^> 



G. Martinelli, is published in the last 

 issue of Ihe BoLLetino iiimensiiale of 

 ihe Italian Meteorological Society. 

 The earthquake was felt, not only 



over the whole of Sicily and of Italy south of Naples and 

 <;ampobasso, but also in Montenegro, the coastal districts 

 of .Albania, and in the islands of Zante, Corfu, and 

 Cephalonia. The greatest violence was experienced in the 

 neighbourhood of the Straits of Messina, but there were 

 also two independent centres in Sicily, one near Raddusa 

 and the other near Augusta, in which the violence reached 

 seven and eight degrees of the Mercalli scale respectively. 

 The epoch of the shock was 5h. 20m. 23s., and its duration 

 .about 30S. to 40S. ; outside the central area it attained 

 50s. at Capo d'Armi, Capo Spartivento, Palmi, &c., and 

 as much as 60s. at Calaforio, but at greater distances 

 the duration became less, being only 20s. to 25s. at 

 • Naples. The character of the shock is described as un- 

 dulatory, perpendicular, and rotary or vorticose in the 

 central district, but the vorticose movement was not 

 new iced where the shock fell below the eighth degree of the 

 Mercalli scale, or a destructive degree of violence. 



at Briga Marina; at Catania the rise was 270 m., at 

 Brucoli, just north of .Augusta, 1-75 m., and at Pozallo, 

 ! on the south coast, 1-60 m. North of the straits the 

 I amplitude of the wave was much less, being only 080 m. 

 at Torre di Faro and 0-75 m. at Milazzo. The sea waves 

 were recorded by tide gauges at Naples, Ischia and Civita- 

 vecchia, at Porto Corsini, near Ravenna, at Mazzara, in 

 j., the west of Sicily, and at Malta ; the amplitude was 

 i small, except at Malta, where the total height of the 

 j waves reached 0-91 m. 



I The cable between Gazzi and Gallico was broken at 



I 3-3 km. from Gallico, and so deeply buried that part of it 



I had to be abandoned, but the cable between Torre di Faro 



and Bagnara was uninjured, as were those connecting the 



Lipari Islands. The cable from Milazzo to Lipari was 



broken, and also, so it is said, that between Malta and 



i Zante. 



NO. 2067, VOL. 80] 



