﻿B. 
  8. 
  Tarr 
  — 
  Climate 
  of 
  Davis* 
  and 
  Baffin's 
  Bay. 
  317 
  

  

  extends, 
  and 
  also 
  how 
  far 
  from 
  the 
  land 
  its 
  influence 
  is 
  felt. 
  I 
  

   should 
  say 
  that 
  the 
  current 
  does 
  not 
  probably 
  reach 
  far 
  to 
  sea 
  ; 
  

   because 
  if 
  it 
  did, 
  the 
  bergs 
  and 
  winter 
  sea 
  ice 
  would 
  not 
  readily 
  

   escape, 
  and 
  the 
  Greenland 
  coast 
  would 
  be 
  ice-bound 
  in 
  summer, 
  

   rather 
  than 
  ice-free 
  as 
  we 
  found 
  it.* 
  There 
  are 
  some 
  reasons 
  

   for 
  thinking 
  that 
  the 
  north-moving 
  current 
  extends 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  

   the 
  northern 
  end 
  of 
  Melville 
  Bay. 
  The 
  fact 
  that 
  great 
  quanti- 
  

   ties 
  of 
  ice 
  accumulate 
  and 
  remain 
  there, 
  rendering 
  this 
  bay 
  

   notoriously 
  difficult 
  to 
  navigate, 
  seems 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  something 
  

   interferes 
  with 
  the 
  southward 
  movement 
  of 
  the 
  ice. 
  

  

  Pointing 
  toward 
  the 
  same 
  conclusion 
  that 
  the 
  warm 
  current 
  

   reaches 
  into 
  Melville 
  Bay, 
  are 
  the 
  observations 
  which 
  were 
  

   made 
  from 
  our 
  camp 
  at 
  Wilcox 
  Head, 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  the 
  Upper 
  

   Nugsuak 
  peninsula 
  which 
  projects 
  into 
  Baffin's 
  Bay 
  near 
  the 
  

   southern 
  end 
  of 
  Melville 
  Bay. 
  During 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  weeks 
  

   encampment 
  at 
  this 
  exposed 
  poiDt, 
  it 
  was 
  noticed 
  that 
  the 
  ice- 
  

   bergs 
  floated 
  almost 
  uniformly 
  toward 
  the 
  north. 
  It 
  is 
  true 
  that 
  

   this 
  was 
  a 
  period 
  during 
  which 
  south 
  winds 
  prevailed, 
  but 
  even 
  

   when 
  these 
  did 
  not 
  blow, 
  the 
  bergs 
  still 
  moved 
  northward. 
  

   Moreover 
  with 
  but 
  one 
  hundred 
  feet, 
  or 
  less, 
  above 
  the 
  water, 
  

   it 
  seems 
  improbable 
  that 
  the 
  great 
  ice 
  masses 
  which 
  floated 
  

   past 
  our 
  camp 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  driven 
  so 
  rapidly 
  by 
  mere 
  wind 
  

   action, 
  particularly 
  when 
  the 
  wind 
  was 
  not 
  strong. 
  

  

  Influence 
  of 
  Winds. 
  — 
  There 
  are 
  two 
  other 
  reasons 
  for 
  cli- 
  

   matic 
  moderation 
  on 
  the 
  Greenland 
  coast 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  place 
  

   the 
  winds 
  from 
  all 
  directions, 
  excepting 
  the 
  east, 
  reach 
  the 
  

   shore 
  from 
  water, 
  the 
  temperature 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  well 
  above 
  the 
  

   freezing 
  point 
  during 
  the 
  summer. 
  The 
  entire 
  coast 
  of 
  this 
  part 
  

   of 
  Greenland 
  is 
  then 
  free 
  from 
  floe 
  ice, 
  and 
  is 
  encumbered 
  onlv 
  

   with 
  scattered 
  bergs 
  and 
  berg 
  fragments. 
  Hence 
  on 
  this 
  coast 
  

   the 
  water 
  is 
  warmer 
  than 
  that 
  on 
  the 
  opposite 
  side 
  of 
  Baffin's 
  

   Bay. 
  On 
  the 
  one 
  shore 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  cold 
  ice-laden 
  current, 
  on 
  

   the 
  other 
  a 
  slowly 
  moving 
  drift 
  of 
  water 
  toward 
  the 
  north. 
  

   One 
  might 
  expect 
  that 
  the 
  wind 
  blowing 
  from 
  the 
  ice 
  cap 
  of 
  

   Greenland, 
  the 
  prevailing 
  wind 
  while 
  we 
  were 
  there, 
  would 
  be 
  

   cold; 
  but 
  the 
  reverse 
  is 
  true. 
  This 
  wind, 
  descending 
  from 
  

   great 
  altitudes 
  and 
  passing 
  over 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  snow 
  and 
  ice, 
  is 
  

   really 
  warmer 
  than 
  that 
  from 
  the 
  sea, 
  and 
  at 
  times 
  it 
  was 
  

  

  * 
  Incidentally 
  I 
  would 
  call 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  this 
  clearing- 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  

   forms 
  of 
  ice 
  from 
  the 
  Greenland 
  coast 
  is 
  usually 
  made 
  possible 
  by 
  the 
  winds 
  that 
  

   blow 
  from 
  the 
  ice 
  cap 
  It 
  is 
  an 
  interesting 
  .coincidence 
  that 
  the 
  very 
  cause 
  for 
  

   most 
  of 
  the 
  ice 
  gives 
  rise 
  to 
  conditions 
  which 
  permit 
  this 
  to 
  be 
  carried 
  awav. 
  

   From 
  the 
  cold 
  highland 
  area 
  of 
  inland 
  Greenland, 
  the 
  dense 
  air 
  settles 
  and 
  blows 
  

   outward, 
  producing 
  off-shore 
  winds, 
  which 
  keep 
  the 
  fjords 
  free 
  of 
  ice 
  encum- 
  

   brances 
  ; 
  and 
  at 
  times, 
  extending 
  out 
  from 
  the" 
  coast, 
  the 
  wind 
  drives 
  this 
  ice 
  well 
  

   to 
  sea, 
  where 
  it 
  comes 
  under 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  the 
  south-moving 
  currents, 
  which 
  I 
  

   believe 
  must 
  exist 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  the 
  Greenland 
  shore. 
  

  

  Am. 
  Jour. 
  Sci. 
  — 
  Fourth 
  Series, 
  Yol. 
  Ill, 
  No. 
  16.— 
  April, 
  1807 
  

   22 
  

  

  