Hydrographical Observations from the Danmark Expedition. 365 



lowing the eastern edge of the Continental Shelf. It is not before 

 ca. 70° N. L., that the Current again reaches right into land. 



The shallowest soundings on the Continental Shelf, indicating 

 its weastern edge in towards the deeper parts near land, are found 

 almost on the inner boundary indicated for the Polar Current, on the 

 line Greenland N. E. Runding to Shannon Island; similarly, the 

 western boundary for the central, heavy, polar pack-ice was met with 

 almost on the same line. 



These facts have led me to the view, that the main portion of the 

 Polar Current, which forms the outlet for the water and ice of the 

 Polar Basin, flows southwards almost like a river with a breadth of 

 about 175 km. in its northern part. The Continental Shelf off the 

 Greenland coast forms the bed of the river and the Norwegian Sea 

 east of the edge of the Shelf is the one margin (retaining the simile), 

 whilst towards the land it has no definite boundary but keeps its 

 breadth almost unchanged, its direction of flow being towards Shannon 

 Island. 



On the inner side of the Polar Current we have the region of the 

 coastal water, where the currents are irregular, even if the resul- 

 tant movement of the water-masses in the course of a year is certainly 

 towards the south. 



It is indeed a remarkable fact, that the masses of water and ice 

 do not press right into the coast, when we remember that the rota- 

 tion of the earth tends to make the south-going Current flow towards 

 the west. But we find similar conditions, for example, on the Nor- 

 wegian coast north of 62° N. L., where the north-going stream is 

 strongest about 60 — 120 km. from land, whilst nearer land the currents 

 are irregular, though the resultant movement of the water-masses 

 here also tends in the course of a year in the same direction as the 

 stream further out (see Norway Pilot, Part II, London 1905, p. 16). 



South of ca. 76° N. L. the Current becomes of less breadth than 

 ca. 175 km. at the same time that it approaches the land. Always 

 taking the boundary of the main Current to be at the eastern edge 

 of the Continental Shelf, its breadth at 75° N. L. is about 140 km. 

 (which is the distance from the eastern edge of the Continental Shelf 

 to Shannon Island). At the same time that the breadth of the Current 

 is here reduced from about 175 km. to about 140 km., its depth is 

 probably also reduced; off Shannon Isl. soundings of less than 200 m. 

 have been made (see Chart II), whilst the depth of the Current in 

 Sect. I was down to ca. 300 m. 



The consequence of this narrowing of the Current must be an 

 increased velocity, which may be considered to be greatest in the 

 upper layers where the friction is least. The surface water and the 

 ice-masses accompanying it will thus presumably obtain here a sudden 

 increase of velocity and this must tend to scatter the ice. This is 



