Maech 11, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



'341 



which points there was much difference of 

 opinion among scientific men. Was there 

 an Antarctic continent ? Dr. Murray 

 pointed out that the lithological specimens 

 which had been collected from the floor of 

 the Antarctic Ocean, dropped there from 

 icebergs — gneisses, granites, mica-schists, 

 quartziferous diorites, grained quartzites, 

 sandstones, limestones and shales — -were 

 distinctively indicative of continental land, 

 and there could be no doubt about their 

 having been transported from land situated 

 towards the South Pole. From these and 

 from specimens, including fossils, from off 

 the land itself, we were thus in possession 

 of abundant indications that there was a 

 wide extent of continental land within the 

 ice-bound regions of the southern hemis- 

 phere. The fossil remains indicated in 

 ihese areas a much warmer climate in past 

 times. It was not likely that any living 

 land fauna would be discovered on the 

 Antarctic continent away from the penguin 

 rookeries. Still, an Antarctic expedition 

 would certainly throw much light on many 

 geological problems. 



Dr. Murray went on to speak of mag- 

 netic and pendulum observations, geodetic 

 measurements, tides and currents. In any 

 Antarctic expedition, he said, magnetic ob- 

 servations would, of course, form an essen- 

 tial part of the work to be undertaken, and 

 the importance of such observations had 

 been frequently dwelt upon by eminent 

 physicists and navigators. It might be 

 possible to measure a degree on the Ant- 

 arctic continent or ice-cap, which would be 

 a most useful thing to do. By watching the 

 motions of the icebergs and ice from land 

 at Cape Adare much would be learnt about 

 oceanic currents, and our knowledge of the 

 tides would be increased by a systematic 

 sferies of tidal observations on the shores of 

 the Antarctic continent, where we had at 

 present no observations. The series of sci- 

 entific observations here indicated would fill 



up many other gaps in our knowledge of 

 the physical conditions of these high south- 

 ern latitudes. 



With regard to the depth of the Ant- 

 arctic Ocean, the few indications which we 

 possessed seemed to show that there was a 

 gradual shoaling of the ocean from very 

 deep water towards the Antarctic continent, 

 and so far as we yet knew, from either 

 soundings or temperature observations, 

 there were no basins cut off from general 

 oceanic circulation by barriers or ridges, 

 similar to those found in the Arctic. Fur- , 

 ther samples in addition to those already 

 obtained from different depths in the unex- 

 plored regions would yield most interesting 

 information. As to the mean daily temper- 

 ature of the surface waters of the Antarctic, 

 all observations seemed to show that the 

 surface water was warmer than the air dur- 

 ing the summer months. After referring 

 to the Challenger observations on surface 

 and deep-sea temperatures, and to the re- 

 lations between the Antarctic waters and 

 those of the oceanic waters to the north, 

 Dr. Murray stated that a fuller examina- 

 tion of these waters was most desirable at 

 different seasons of the year, with improved 

 thermometers and sounding machines. Dr. 

 Murray referred in some detail to the pe- 

 lagic and shallow-water life found in the 

 Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Ocean, and to 

 the interesting scientific problems connected 

 therewith. He dwelt especially on the 

 many forms which have been found com- 

 mon to both the North and the South Polar 

 Oceans, hinting at a problem of great 

 interest which he discussed in the last vol- 

 ume of the ' Challenger' publications in 

 connection with the former distribution of 

 life in the ocean. 



What was urgently required, he said, 

 with reference to the biological problems 

 indicated was a fuller knowledge of the 

 facts, and it could not be doubted that an 

 Antarctic expedition would bring back col- 



