X.] 
THE ICE ROUND THE VESSEL. 
465 
still weak places here and there between the vessel and the 
land, and a blue sky to the eastward indicated that there was 
still open water in that direction. That this “ clearing ” was at a 
considerable distance from the vessel was seen from an excursion 
which Dr. Almquist undertook in a north-easterly direction on 
the 13th October, when, after walking about twenty kilometres 
over closely packed drift-ice, he was compelled to turn without 
having reached the open water. It was clear that the Vega was 
surrounded by a band, at least thirty kilometres broad, of drift- 
ice fields, united by newly formed ice, which in the course of 
the winter reached a considerable thickness.^ 
In this immense ice-sheet there often arose in the course of 
the winter cracks of great length. They ran uninterruptedly 
across newly formed ice-fields, and old, high ground-ices. One 
of the largest of these cracks was formed on the night before 
the 15th December right under the bow of the vessel. It was 
nearly a metre broad, and very long. Commonly the cracks were* 
only some centimetres broad, but, notwithstanding this, they 
were troublesome enough, because the sea-water forced itself 
up through them to the surface of the ice and drenched the 
snow lying next to it. 
The causes of the formation of the cracks were twofold. 
Either they arose from a violent wind disturbing somewhat the 
position of the newly formed ice, or through the contraction of 
1 When it had become evident that we could make no further advance 
before next year, Lieut. Brusewitz occasionally measured the thickness of 
the newly formed ice, with the following results :— 
THICKNESS OF THE ICE. 
1 December, 56 centimetres. 
1 January, 92 „ 
1 February, 108 „ 
15 „ 120 
1 March, 123 „ 
1 April, 128 „ 
15 „ 139 
1 May, 154 centimetres. 
15 „ 162 
1 June, 154 ,, 
15 „ 151 
1 July, 104 „ 
15 „ 67 „ (full of holes). 
18 „ The ice broke up. 
H H 
