816 
MR J. M. WORDIE ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OE PACK-ICE 
northerly. Taken as a whole, the winds met with off the Antarctic coasts are south- 
easterly, with the result that the ice-pack moves towards the west. It has taken 
years for this fact to be properly appreciated ; early circumnavigators, such as 
Biscoe for instance, believed that the westerlies still prevailed far south, and sailed 
eastwards, not knowing how much they would have gained by adopting the exactly 
opposite course in high latitudes. The westerly drift round the Antarctic is well 
known to-day, and it is obvious that the course of future explorations will be very 
markedly influenced by this knowledge. It means, for instance, that the eastern 
borders of such seas as the Weddell Sea are free from ice, at least towards the end 
of the season, while on the west side the reverse is more likely. This makes it 
improbable, therefore, that the east coast of Graham Land will ever be charted from 
the sea, for it is unlikely that any ship will venture down the west side of the 
Weddell Sea, or having crept down Coats Land will risk penetrating farther north- 
west along the Wilhelm Barrier, with the ever-threatening possibility of being 
jammed against the land by pack from the east. 
Graham Land obstructs the westerly drift ; that and the low average wind- 
velocity in the Weddell Sea compared with the Ross Sea are the causes of the 
unusual congestion of ice which generally prevails in the former area. The 
Endurance tried to make its southing between 15° and 20° W. long., but from 
60° onwards there was a continual struggle with the pack. There must, however, 
be an eastern limit to this ice congestion ; possibly a ship sailing south along the 
Greenwich meridian may meet with no ice there even in January. One cannot say 
probably, for there is also the likelihood of a considerable indentation (and nourish- 
ing ground, therefore, for ice) into the continent between 15° E. and 15° W. long. 
The reason for supposing the existence of such a sea has already been referred to, 
namely the finding by the Endurance in 70° to 71° S. lat., 15° to 20° W. long., of 
a line of impenetrable hummocky pack heavier than anything encountered elsewhere, 
even off Graham Land. One felt compelled to think that it could only be due to 
the westerly drift piling up the ice either against a great ice-tongue (e.g. Termina- 
tion Ice-Tongue in 100° E. long.) or along a N.— S. coast obstructing the normal drift. 
Bellingshausen’s discovery of land in 69° S. lat., 16° E. long., marks the eastern 
limit of this possible indentation. A ship working westwards from Enderby Land 
would be taking the most suitable course for entering this presumed sea. 
Position of the Pack-Ice Edge . — The course of future exploration is bound to be 
influenced to a great extent by the results of the voyage of the Endurance, for 
much that was formerly mere supposition in regard to the ice is now accomplished 
fact. It would also be most useful, therefore, if the average edge of the pack in the 
Weddell Sea could be determined from the records of all who have previously visited 
this region, and a chart drawn like that published annually for the Arctic by the 
Danish Meteorological Institute. An attempt was made to do so, but achieved only 
moderate success. The time does not seem suitable for it yet. In the first place, 
