OCEANOGRAPHICAL RESULTS, MICHAEL SARS, 1900. 161 



the whole, however, seem to indicate that no really vertical 

 currents exist in the sea, the water-particles evidently move in 

 great spirals, gradually sinking or rising. Only at some few, 

 depths, at a few stations, we have collected water-samples which, 

 in spite of the most accurate determinations, seem to have been, 

 in situ, actually heavier than the underlying water or Hghter 

 than the overlying water (see the rings in the Sections, Pis. 12 — 14). 

 I cannot, however, at present decide finally whether some irre- 

 gularities may not have occurred in the water-samples from these 

 Stations. 



Prof. H. MoHN has made the first important attempt to solve 

 the problem of the circulation of the Norwegian Sea. His Cal- 

 culations were, however, based on too insufficient a material of 

 observations to make any certain conclusions possible. Newer- 

 theless our observations seem in several respects to verify his 

 results, and the accordance between his deep-sea temperatures 

 and ours are really surprising considering the imperfect instru- 

 ments which were at his disposal. In several important points 

 regarding the circulation of the Ocean our observations seem 

 in my opinion to lead to results different from Mohn's. But 

 the cause of this disaccordance is to a great extent that Mohn's 

 material could not possibly give any trustworthy informations 

 with regard to the vertical distribution of the salinity and density 

 in the sea. It would, however, lead us too far to enter into the 

 discussion of the difficult problem of the Circulation of the 

 Ocean here. 



Godthaab, Lysaker, April, 1901. 



Fridtjof ]S ansen. 



Erratum. In Section IV (PI 9 and 14) all determinations of salinity 

 are made by titration. 



Nj^t Mag. f. Natiirv. XXXIX, II. ' 11 



