AND CIRQUES IN NORWAY AND GREENLAND. 



157 



charged by a great fjord as " one or several thousand million cubic 

 ells," states that this amount is many times smaller than that of 

 the rain and snow which falls upon the interior of Greenland. Even 

 if, as I am inclined to do, we read cubic metres for cubic ells in the 

 above, still the proportion discharged as ice will be much smaller 

 than that which passes out as water beneath the glaciers. 



On the amount of mud in Rivers issuing from. Glaciers in Greenland 

 and Norway. — The sea-water of the fjords into which glaciers de- 

 scend is not muddy ; but where a strip of shore intervenes between 

 the water and the ice a muddy river is seen to issue from the glacier ; 

 also along the sides of the glaciers in the fjords and along the In- 

 land Ice, streams thick with pulverized rock are often to be seen. 

 The rivers which discharge themselves into the fjords under the 

 great glaciers, often far from the end of the latter, probably deposit 

 their mud at the bottom of the sea beneath the ice. 



The quantity of mud in the rivers which issue from the glaciers 

 in Greenland is very variable, as will be seen from the following 

 numbers (these indicate the weight of mud in grams in 1,000,000 

 grams of water, which is nearly the same as the quantity of mud 

 in grams contained in 1 cubic metre of water) : — 



River at the glacier of Jakobshavn 9th of July, 1875 



„ „ Alangordlek 10th of July, „ 



,, „ Ilartdlek 17th of July, „ 



„ ,, Tuaparsuit 6th of Aug. „ 



„ ,, Umiatorfik 20th of Aug. ,, 



„ ,, Assakak 21st of Aug. „ 



„ „ Kangerdlugssuak 1 lth of Aug. ,, 



Grams of mud 



in 1 cubic metre 



of water. 



104 



2374 



723 



678 



75 

 208 

 278 



The last four glaciers are situated in the district of Umanak. 



In Norway the quantity of mud in the rivers issuing from under 

 the glaciers descending from the large snow-and-ice field of Juste- 

 dalsbraeen was calculated in the year 1874. The numbers were 

 as follows : — 



The western river of the glacier of Boium 23rd of June 



The same river 30th of July 



The eastern river of the glacier of Boiurn 23rd of June 



The same river 30th of July 



The large river of the glacier of Suphelle 24th of June 



The same river 30th of July 



The small river of the glacier of Suphelle 24th of June 



The small river of the glacier of Langedal 6th of July 



The river of the glacier of Austerdal 6th of July 



The ri ver of the glacier of Brixdal 1 6th of July 



Grams of mud 

 iu 1 cubic metre 

 of water. 



309 

 59 



159 

 33 



113 

 72 



513 

 56 

 77 



Mean number 1479 



It is obvious that even the quantity of mud in the same river is 

 very variable. 



By measuring the quantity of water in the rivers, I calculated the 

 quantity of mud carried away from all the glaciers descending from 



