SUTHERLAND, DAVIs' STRAIT AND BAFFIN'S BAT. 365 



from 1 * 0245 to 1 * 0185. Before, however, this theory of a northerly 

 seeking current in Davis' Strait along the eastern shore can be 

 accepted, we must get over the difficulty arising from the position 

 of the great Arctic Current in the North Atlantic. This current 

 sweeps southward across the entrance of Davis' Strait and prevents 

 the ingress at the surface of any water from the Atlantic, except 

 such as the current itself would supply. The Rev. Dr. Scoresby 

 suggests the idea that two currents may arise from the existence 

 of two strata of Avater varying in temperature.* The question 

 then arises as to the order of superposition. If sea-water indepen- 

 dent of its saline ingredients follows the law of expansion peculiar 

 to water from 40° to 32°, one current at a temperature of 36° may 

 pass over another at 44°, and if we separate the extremes eight 

 degrees more, the coldest is still the most buoyant, for, even 

 although it is sea- water, if in a state of tolerable quiescence a por- 

 tion of it will have become congealed. It is a well-known fact 

 that the process of congelation separates the saline from the watery 

 particles. I have often observed sea-water freezing when the 

 immersed thermometer stood at 32°, and the ice produced at the 

 time was found to contain little more than a trace of saline matter* 

 But there seems to be no reason why this separation should be 

 confined solely to the act of congelation, since it is owing to the 

 universal law of contraction observed in obedience to cold by, I 

 believe, everything in nature except water itself, and that only 

 between the temperatures of 40° and 32°. This may appear some- 

 what at variance with the experiments of Erman, as quoted by 

 Sir Charles l^yellf ; the latter, however, acknowledges the pos- 

 sibility of the colder and more diluted water of the Arctic Current 

 passing over the warmer and more saline waters of the Gulf 

 Stream. Until our knowledge of the physical changes peculiar to 

 these high latitudes extends, such phsenomena as the above must 

 remain more or less obscure ; at present we may rest assured that 

 a meeting and commingling of waters differing in point of saltness 

 and temperature takes place in the entrance of Davis' Strait, and 

 to this causing sudden and decided meteorological changes may be 

 attributed, in great measure, the extreme violence of the storms 

 experienced by navigators when they approach Cape Farewell. 



Sea-bottoms and Soundings. — Presuming then upon the exis- 

 tence of currents into the Arctic Seas which may assist the action 

 of the sun in dissolving icebergs and sea-water-ice, we are in a 

 position to consider the extent and character of deposits and 

 accumulations of drift material or " till " now forming in the track 

 of these conveying agents. At the confluence of two opposite 

 currents the largest amount of foreign matter will be deposited, 

 for there icebergs and coast- ice are brought to a stand in the eddies, 

 and are liable to be detained until they are dissolved. In such cases 

 submarine ridges and mounds begin to grow above the general 

 level of the sea-bottom, and they may continue to increase until 

 the surface of the water is reached. 



Priuciples of Geology, 7th edit., page S7. f Ibid, 



