WATER And 



THE OCEAN. 



It" has been obferved, that the large maffes of ice floating in the 

 ocean, cool the air conliderably ,* fo that, upon approaching them, 



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the change may be fenfibly felt. 



On the 1 1 til of December, 1772, on a clear mild day, before 



Vv'-e reached a large mafs of ice, of about half a mile in length, and 



a hundred feet high, the thermometer on deck, fixed on the cap- 

 ilan, was at 41°. When we were to leeward of it, the thermome- 

 ter funk to ^yi"; and when we had pafled it, \vhich was at about 

 iive o'clock in the afternoon, it had rifen again to 41°. On De- 



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cember the 13th, 1772, in the morning early, the thermometer 



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32% and it had continued to fnow all the night and 



morning. In the morning, between {even and eight o'clock. We 

 approached a great many ice-iflands, fome of which were of vafl 

 extent. At eight o'clock the thermometer pointed at 31!'' ; it re- 

 mained there when we were juil to leeward of the largeft of them; 



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and, after we had pafTed it, the thermometer did not rife higher than 



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31-1°. I believe the cold was not leffened, becaufe the deck being 

 wet from the fnow, caufed a great evaporation, w^hich cooled the 



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air: and we were likewife every where furrounded by large ice- 

 mailes, which had fo much cooled the atmofphere all round, that 

 it remained in the fame temperature. Both thefe inflances feem 

 therefore to prove, that the ice-maffes contribu 



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wards cooling the atmofphere. 



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onfiderabl 



to- 



The 



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ICEa 



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