50 



traced to the influence of warmer water from the southwest, in the 

 direction of the more open Barents Sea? As we approached closer 

 to Severnaya Zemlya the ice became heavier, and more rugged 

 in character than anywhere we cruised during the expedition. From 

 the gondola windows of the GraJ, at an altitude of 1,000 feet, pressure 

 ridges, indistinct in other regions, now became quite noticeable. 

 Disjointed and scattered by previous disruptions of the floes, they 

 looked barely mole-mound in size. Pressure ridges marking the 

 battle lines of former collisions of the pack, are easily recognized from 

 flight altitudes by a color whiter than the rest of the ice. 



The iceberg productivity of Severnaya Zemlya, at least in the 

 parts which we flew over, is very meager. The surveyed section is 

 devoid of high mountains and alpine topography. Its bare, basalt 

 headlands, with flat tops, and steep slopes, associate it with the same 

 geological formation as Franz Josef Land. But there the similarity 

 ends. Unlike the group of islands to the westward, the northwestern 

 coast of Severnaya Zemlya appears to be ice-locked throughout the 

 year. The glaciers, similar to those in north Greenland, appear to 

 merge as floating tongues into the tightly packed sea ice. It is very 

 difficult to detect where the glaciers leave oft" and the pack ice begins. 

 Naturally, few or no icebergs can be produced under such prevailing 

 conditions. Although no bergs were observed, their possible existence 

 is not entirely precluded, since in the offing of one glacier, movement 

 of the ice was indicated by a long crack which ran out into the sea 

 ice for a distance of several miles. 



After cruising over Severnaya Zemlya and verifying the fact that 

 Schokalsky Channel is a waterway which cuts Severnaya Zemlya into 

 two large islands, the Graj^ Zeppelin headed south into the region 

 of Taimyr Lake. From there a course was laid which carried the 

 ship over Dickson, Russian trading post at the mouth of the Jennsei 

 River, and thence across the Kara Sea to Novaya Zemlya. Fog, 

 unfortunately prevented any view of Vilkitski Strait and the ice con- 

 ditions there. The importance of such observations lies in the similar- 

 ity between the ice movements there and those in other like bodies 

 of water, for example, in the straits and sounds emptying into Baffin 

 Bay. 



Flying over the Kara Sea, we first crossed a shore-lead about 50 

 miles in width, practically clear of all ice, and better known as the 

 famous Siberian Sea Road. Then came the fringe of the pack, con- 

 sisting of loose scattered glacons, plainly showing the effects ot 

 extensive ablation. The character of the ice, however, was similar 

 to that met south of Franz Josef Land two days previously, ffat; 

 free of pressure ridges; and probably dating from last winter's freezing. 

 Much of the pack along this route, even 100 or more miles from the 

 coast, was englaciated with dark brown mud; some of the glacons. 



