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fresh water are formed on the floes. This is not a very marked featnre 

 off the east coast of Greenland, north of hititude 72° N., but in Bajffin 

 Bay the floes become covered with a maze of deep pools. In the Ant- 

 arctic, surface pools on floes in the pack are almost unknown. The 

 outstanding difference between Arctic and Antarctic ice, which is ap- 

 parent to the navigator, is the softer texture of the latter. 



PALEOCRYSTIC ICE 



The extreme development of sea ice is found in the channel between 

 Grant Land and the northwest coast of Greenland. Here the early 

 explorers encountered ice masses so thick and irregular that they were 

 assumed to be closely packed bergs of glacial origin. Later observa- 

 tions, however, indicate that this paleocrystic ice consists of remnants 

 of Arctic pack that is blocked by the tip of Peary Land from drifting 

 down the east coast of Greenland and instead is trapped along the 

 north coast of (xreenland and Grant I^and. Intensive hummocking 

 of this pack over a period of years produces tremendous floebergs. 



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