118 



Anniversary Meeting. 



[Nov. 30, 



indicating in many ways the proximity of an extensive open sea, is not more 

 than about 400 geographical miles. 



The Survey which has been recently made under the auspices of the 

 Swedish Government, with a view to the measurement of an arc of the 

 meridian at Spitzbergen, may have suggested the corresponding survey of 

 the coast of East Greenland. But, without doubt, the extent of con- 

 tinuous land in the direction of the meridian is much greater in Greenland 

 than in Spitzbergen; whilst the fiords, which so generally characterize 

 the Greenland coast, would probably greatly facilitate the access to localities 

 suitable for trigonometrical stations. The return of the ' Germania,' whilst 

 the objects of her mission were still incomplete, was occasioned by the 

 necessity of replacing her boiler, which had wholly failed ; and she will pro- 

 bably resume her operations in the coming year. It is understood that 

 the Swedes also are organizing another Spitzbergen expedition, of which 

 the special objects have not yet been announced. It may be hoped that the 

 remeasurement of the Fairhaven Hill may be remembered on this occasion. 

 Its height in 1823 was determined with great care, both geometrically and 

 barometrically, by Captain Foster and myself (Phil. Trans. 1824, Art. xvi.). 

 The permanency, or otherwise, in the elevation of marked features of the 

 land is a subject of considerable geological importance in some countries ; 

 and Spitzbergen is one of those in which it has been occasionally questioned. 



The discrepancy in the action of the currents experienced in 1823 and 

 1869; on the extensive ice-fields which occupy the middle space between 

 the coasts of Europe and of East Greenland, is very noteworthy. In 1823 

 the most careful observations, of officers greatly practised in such investi- 

 gations, failed to discover any perceptible surface-current whatsoever, either 

 by its effect on the ice itself, or on the surface-water of the sea between 

 the ice and the Greenland coast ; whilst in 1869 the crew of the 'Hansa,' 

 having taken refuge on the ice after the loss of their vessel, in the approxi- 

 mate geographical position of 70° 50' N. and 21° W., were carried by it 

 to the lat. of 61° 12' N. and long, (about) 42° W.,— being a drift extending 

 over more than 500 geographical miles, accomplished in little less than 200 

 days, the average being somewhat less than three miles a day. In seas 

 much encumbered by floating ice, currents are generally ascribed to the 

 prevailing winds; and there appears to have been in 1869 a considerable 

 amount of northerly gales. But the frequent existence of a current setting 

 to the south and south-west down the coast of East Greenland has been 

 recognized by the highest authorities, and is regarded by Forchhammer, 

 in his valuable memoir on the Phenomena of the Sea, in the Philosophical 

 Transactions for 1865, as a returning branch of the Gulf-stream, recog- 

 nizable as such by the difference in the analysis of the polar and equatorial 

 waters. This branch of physical research has doubtless received full 

 attention from the officers of the * Germania;' and we must await the pub- 

 lication of the complete account of the voyage for the full details. 



The plant-remains of the Miocene epoch, discovered in Spitzbergen and 



