18¢ - Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 
and green, but by closer examination this was found to be due to many small, 
round, green ales, probably deposited by the now evaporated water. 
The spring of 1914 seemed to be much delayed on the coast, judging from 
the plants and insects. This was probably caused by the raw and windy weather 
from the end of May to the middle of June, which neutralized the effect of the 
warm, sunny weather in the beginning of May. 
From the 8th of June on, the weather became steadily warmer. 
At the middle of June most of the snow on the tundra had evaporated or 
was replaced by melt-water!; the shallower ponds were then completely free of 
ice. Many plants showed new leaves and buds, and the first flowers (Sazifraga 
oppositifolia, Ranunculus sp., Anemone parviflora, Salix pulchra, S. Richardsonii, 
Eriophorum sp., ete.) appeared.? 
In 1914 there was a decided rise of the temperature on June 24th, June 25th 
and 26th being very hot, as a matter of fact the warmest of the season, with the 
temperature above 70°F. After that date the mean temperature gradually 
sank until July. At the end of June the deeper ponds and large lakes 
still had ice at the bottom, the lakes also showing surface ice in the middle parts. 
Records for the month of July 1914 showed temperatures from 32°F. to 
58°F. the first day of the month, from 30°F. to 49°F. the next ten days, and 
from 38°F. to 62°F. the rest of the month, the middle of the month having the 
highest temperature. The weather was often hazy, with rain or wet snow, 
owing to the breaking up of the sea ice. All the plants had green leaves and 
were mostly in bloom. 
In the month of August there is generally open water along the coast and 
for a varying distance out, and there are also open leads in the pack ice farther 
off shore. Thermograph records for August 18-31, 1913, taken at point Barrow, 
Alaska, showed temperatures ranging from 18°F. to about 32°F. 
During the first three weeks of September the shoal waters of the sea are 
usually navigable, but new ice may form any time after that. In certain seasons 
the freeze-up occurs before the middle of the month, in others at the end. Asa 
rule there is ample warning of the close of the navigation. The pools on the 
land freeze over, and the shoal waters of the ocean may be crusted over several 
times before the ice becomes permanent. Lagoons and bays without strong 
circulation of the water generally freeze over before the ocean proper, and open 
water may remain as extensive leads off-shore or around certain points of the 
coast for a long time in the fall. While the actual date of the freezing of the sea 
mainly depends upon the currents in the water, the winds, and the amount of 
drift ice already present, the lakes, pools, and ponds on land begin to be covered 
with ice as soon as the temperature sinks below the freezing point. 
Thermograph records for September 1-7, 1913, taken when sailing from 
point Barrow to Collinson point, showed temperatures from 19°F. to 25°F. 
On Spy island it was noticed, on September 3rd, that the sandspit was already 
frozen from the surface down, except in places which were covered by snow or 
washed-up material, and many of the plants were in the fall stage, with dead 
leaves and stems. Thermograph records for September 8-21, 1913, at Collinson 
point, showed temperatures ranging from 10°F. to 32°F. On September 20th 
the ponds on the tundra had ice six inches thick; the ground was frozen from 
the surface down and the snow which so far had fallen was lying on the low 
parts of the land, nearest the sea, having melted from the higher ground. Thermo- 
graph records for September 22-28, 1913, showed temperatures from 19-5°F. 
to 31°F. It was a week of surprisingly mild weather. The three last days 
of the month the temperature gradually got lower, ranging from about 10°F. 
to 20°F., and much snow fell. 
Melt-water is a term brought into use by recent geologists for water derived from melting snow or ice, 
For complete observations on the first leaves and flowers, see Vol. III, Pt. K, pp. 7-8. 
