mod Overfladen, mod Dybet, mod Øst og mod Vest. I 
Grønlandshavets Overflade er der først, ligesom i det forrige 
Tversnit, en rask Aftagen der, hvor Sommeren har smeltet 
Vinterens Is, derpaa en langsom Aftagen henimod Grøn- 
lands Kyst der, hvor Drivisen ligger. Dette Forhold frem- 
gaar af den tyske Nordfarts lagttagelser. Man 
ogsaa paa Overfladekartet, Pl. XX XIV. 
ser det 
Tversnit XXII, Pl. XXXVIIIL, fra Grønlandshavet 
til Spidsbergens Sydkap, viser Maximum af specifisk Vægt, 
over 1.0265, 1 c. 400 Favnes Dyb ved Skraaningen af 
Spidsbergbanken. Den specifiske Vægt aftager langsomt 
med Dybet, men raskt mod Overfladen under Spidsbergen 
og 1 Gronlandshavet. 
Tversnit XXIII, udenfor Isfjorden paa Spidsbergen, 
viser ganske lignende Forhold, ligesaa Tversnit XXV paa 
den 80. Breddegrad. Omraadet for Linien for 1.0265 er 
mere og mere indskrænket. 
Ligesom Temperaturens Maxima i Tversnittene anty- 
dede Strømningernes Vej, saaledes ogsaa de beskrevne 
Maxima af specifisk Vægt. Den højere Temperatur og 
den større Saltholdighed følges ad, fra Atlanterhavet til 
Spidsbergen. 
Snittet XX VIII, Pl. XXXVIII, er et Længdesnit 
langs Greenwich’s Meridian. Det salteste Vand, 1.0270, 
lægger sig fra Shetland ned over Skraaningen i det norske 
Havs Dyb. Under 68° til 69° Bredde kommer mindre 
saltholdigt Vand frem over Bunden. I 70° til 71° Bredde 
sænker saltere Vand sig ned mod Bunden, Under 74° 
Bredde er saltfattigere Vand gjennem hele Dybet, under 
769 til 77° igjen saltrigere. I Pl. XIV, Snit XXVIII, 
gjenfinder man analoge Forhold i Temperaturens Fordeling. 
Det her beskrevne System af de specifiske Vægters 
Fordeling i vort Nordhav grunder sig hovedsagelig paa 
vore Observationer af samme fra Overfladen og fra Bunden. 
Fra intermediære Dybder er desværre Iagttagelsernes An- 
tal forholdsvis lidet. Deres Betydning for Studiet af Hav- 
strømmene stod mig dengang, da Expeditionen arbejdede i 
Søen, ikke saa klart som nu, og den anvendte Vandhenter 
var noget besværlig at bruge, hvad der bevirkede, at den 
sjeldnere anvendtes paa intermediære Dyb. Imidlertid vil 
man se af Snittene, hvor de benyttede Værdier af den 
specifiske Veet ere paaskrevne, at det i de fleste Tilfælder 
har været muligt at trække Linierne efter virkelige Iagt- 
tagelser. Hvor disse have slaaet fejl, giver Temperaturens 
Fordeling Fingerpeg, og saaledes tør den Fremstilling, jeg 
har kunnet give af den specifiske Vægts Fordeling i vort 
Nordhav, som et første Forsøg betragtet, være af Interesse 
og brugbar til derpaa at grunde videre Beregninger. 
136 
little over 1.02653. The specific gravity diminishes towards 
the surface, towards the deep, towards the east, and towards 
west. Along the surface of the Greenland Sea, occurs 
first, as in the previous transverse section, a rapid diminu- 
tion where the heat of summer has melted the ice of 
winter; then a slow decrease towards the coast of Green- 
land, across the tract covered with drift-ice. This fact is 
proved by the observations of the German Arctic Expe- 
dition. It appears likewise from the Surface-Map, PI. 
XXXIV. 
Transverse Section XXII, Pl. XXXVIII, from the 
Greenland Sea to South Cape Spitzbergen, exhibits the 
maximum of specific gravity, upwards of 1.0265, at a depth 
of about 400 fathoms, on the declivity of the Spitzbergen 
Bank. The specific gravity diminishes slowly towards the 
deep but rapidly towards the surface off the coast of Spitz- 
bergen and in the Greenland Sea. 
Transverse section XXIII, off Ice Sound Spitz- 
bergen, exhibits precisely similar conditions. Likewise 
transverse section XXV, on the 80th parallel of latitude. 
The area within the line for 1.0265 becomes more and 
more confined. 
Precisely as the maxima of temperature in the trans- 
verse sections indicated the direction of the currents, so 
it is with the above-described maxima of specific gravity. 
The higher temperature and the greater amount of salt 
are found to correspond with each other from the Atlantic 
Ocean to Spitzbergen. 
Section XXVIII, Pl. XX XVIII, is a longitudinal 
section, stretching along the meridian of Greenwich. 
The saltest water, 1.0270, descends from Shetland down 
the declivity into the deep of the Norwegian Sea. From 
the 68th to the 69th parallel of latitude, water with a less 
proportion of salt extends over the bottom. Between the 
70th to the 71st parallels of latitude, salter water sinks 
On the 74th parallel of latitude, 
is found to extend 
towards the bottom. 
water with a less amount of salt 
throughout the whole deep, and again from the 76th to the 
Tith salter water. In Pl. XIV, section XXVIII, ana- 
logous conditions occur in the distribution of temperature. 
The system described above for the distribution of 
specific gravity in the North Ocean is based chiefly on our 
observations of samples from the surface and from the bottom. 
From intermediate depths, the number of observations is, 
I am sorry to say, comparatively small. The importance 
of such for the study of ocean-currents, was not so clear 
to me at the time the Expedition continued working in 
the sea; and moreover the water-bottle in use proved 
somewhat heavy, a circumstance that led to its being compara- 
tively seldom employed for intermediate depths. Mean- 
while, it will appear from the sections, on which the ap- 
plied values of specific gravity are inscribed, that, in the 
majority of cases, the lines have admitted of being drawn 
from actual observations. Where such failed, the dis- 
tribution of the temperature gave the required hints; and 
thus the statement I have given of the distribution of 
specific gravity in the North Ocean will prove, as a first 
