CHAPTER YI 

 GLACIOLOGY {continued) 



THE ROSS BARRIER 



The Ross Barrier was formerly known as the Great Ice Barrier. In 1841 Sir James 

 C Ross sailed eastwards along the great cliff of the Ice Barrier for about 470 miles. 

 In 1899 C E. Borchgrevink followed the Barrier eastwards to Borchgrevink Inlet, 

 near where Ross reported "strong appearance of land." In 1902 the late Captain 

 R. F. Scott coasted along the Barrier for nearly 500 miles, penetrating beyond 

 Ross' farther point east, and discovering King Edward VII. Land. He made a 

 detailed survey of the Barrier edge, determining the height of the cliff at many 

 points, and taking a number of soundings. He arrived at the important conclusion 

 that the Barrier was afloat, except at its extreme east and west margins, and rises 

 and falls with the tide like a gigantic landing-stage. His own observations from a 

 balloon, and those of Lieutenant A. B. Armitage in the course of a short sledge 

 journey near the east extremity of the Barrier, revealed the important fact that the 

 surface of the Barrier was not there uniformly level, but undulating. Scott 

 says : * — 



" South of the rising slope ahead of the ship I had expected to see a continuous 

 level plain, but, to my surprise, found that the plain continued in a series of long 

 undulations running approximately east and west, or parallel to the Barrier edge : 

 the first two undulations could be distinctly seen, each wave occupying a space of 

 two or three miles, but, beyond that, the existence of further waves was only 

 indicated by alternate light and shadow, growing fainter in the distance." 



Scott further says that Armitage reported that, in his shoi't sledge journey ot 

 about 12 miles, he crossed four of these undulations. They extended in a general 

 east Hnd west direction, and were not in the nature of symmetrical anticlines and 

 synciines. They presented rather the appearance of a penejilain dissected by broad 

 mature valleys. The general depth of the latter was about 120 feet. Later, 

 Lieutenant Royds, of the same expedition, made a sledge journey over the Barrier, 

 from Hut Point to the south of Mount Erebus, in a general south-east direction, 

 reaching the meridian of 176° E. near latitude 79° 33' S. Scott describes the 

 surface over which Royds travelled as an unutterably wearisome plain, a surface 



* The Voyage of Discovery, vol. i. p. 148, London, 1905. 



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