320 GREENLAND OR POLAR ICE. 



the fewness of the clouds, — the consequent bright- 

 ness of the atmosphere, — and the rareness of 

 storms, in situations far immured among the north- 

 ern ice. 



From this consideration, it might be supposed^ 

 that after the precipitation of a certain small depth 

 of snow on the interior ice, the atmosphere could 

 alone replenish its moisture from the same sur- 

 face, and that whatever changes of temperature 

 might occur, it could only discharge the same 

 again : or, in other words, that the very same 

 moisture would be alternately evaporated and de- 

 posited, without a possibility of adding to a limited 

 depth of snow. Now, this would assuredly be 

 the case, if nothing more than the same moisture 

 evaporated from the snowy surface of ice, were 

 again deposited. But, it must be observed, that 

 notwithstanding winds from the north, east, or 

 west, may not furnish any considerable quantity 

 of snow ; and that although those warm and 

 humid storms which blow from the south, may 

 afford a large proportion of their humidity to the 

 exterior ice ; yet, as the temperature of the north- 

 ern regions would be gradually elevated, by the 

 long continuance of a southerly gale, the advance 

 of the wind must in consequence be farther and 

 farther before it be reduced to the temperature of 

 the ice ; and, therefore, some snow would con- 

 tinue to be precipitated to an increasing and un- 

 limited extent. 



