DR. CHARCOT'S ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1024, 13 January 1911, Page 8

DR. CHARCOT'S ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

—— —« ■■ — SUMMARY OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS.

No time has been lost by Dr. Charcot in publishing a summary of the results of his recent Antarctic exploration (says a writer in the "Geographical Joumil" for November). In a pamphlet the-vari-ous members of the expedition summarise the achievements in their- respective departments, and though in many cases it is scarcely possible to estimate adequately the quality of these results, there can be no doubt as to the. }nr£B amount idwork that was dono during the thirteen months spent in-the Antarctic by the' 'Tourquoi Pas?". The work of the "Francis" has be;n amplified and ex-toi.ii-Kl in every direction.

, Passing to the southward of the region explored in his previous expedition, Dr. Charcot discovered Adelaide Land is some S4 miles in length, and is separated by-numerous-islands from the mainland, his Terra Loubert 'of 1904. To the southward is.a great.gulf, Murgnerite Bay, nt the head ot which several points of land have been sighted.. , Alexander.. Land scams to be a large island, as indeed was .suggested by some' members of the Belgica Expedition. Somo salient points on this laud have been fixed, and lastly' in 70 degrees south and about 79 degrees west new laud was discovered, doubtless a continuation of Graham Land, but an impenetrable' ice-pack prevented an ; :ap-. proach. . , .

Proceeding further westwardthe"Pourquoi, Pas?" followed, tha packt0.428,.,de 1 < grees 20 minutes west, and sighted' Peter" Island; unfortunately, no, landing could be made on this island. Indeed, in the. matter of successful"landings,'-Dr. Charcot seems to have' been most • unlucky. Some geological exploration:was also conducted about the South Shetlands and: at Bridgmau Island, on which Dr. Charcot claims his expedition was the first to land. Ultimately want of coal, the need of docking the ship, and some attacks of scurvy brought the cruise to..an end, and comparatively early in. the southern autumn (February 11,1910), the "Pourquoi Pas ?" turned towards Punta Arenas,' and home.

Dr. Charcot 'employs the name Graham Land in. his original 'application to the land' immediately west of the Bisco Islands. While there can be no objection to this, the utage'of the. term for the whole-peninsula is . more frequent- and convenient. case the name Louis Phillip Land can scarcely maintain- a claim for recognition, sinco Powell's name Palmer Land certainly has priority. Dr. Gourdon, of the Francis Expedition, -was responsible -f or the geology. The land, forms and relief so characteristic of the northern parts of Graham Land seem to continue southward as far as.the new land. No sedimentary rocks were found, and consequently no fossils. Neither on the New Land or Joinville Island, nor Peter Island was a landing possible. -A considerable amount of work was done at Deception. Island—the base of' the expedition—and a new chart of the island was made.

As regards zoology, little.can bs said as yet. . The Foetus, of the sea leopard is an important new discovery, but the breeding places of. this. seal still remain unknown. The Lobodon seal s:cnis .to be as frequent, or even more so, than the Weddel seal, on those coasts. The re-, verso is the case on the east of Graham Land. An interesting discovery is a rookery of the Ycllow-Cresfed Penguin (Catarrhactes chrysolophus), on Deception Island. No Emperor Penguins were seen even at the farthest south'. The two Antarctic flowering plants, Aira Antarctica and Colobanthur, v crassifoliiis, were found in about 68 degrees south on Jenny Island, at the western extremity of Adelaide Island.. ,' ,

An excellent series ' of sounding's . was taken, which are.of special.importance in conjunction with those of.the Belgica in defining the: extent- of the continental plateau. Two soundings of 4350 and 5100 metres indicate a previously unknown depression. Their respective positions are GO degrees 20. minutes south, 99 degrees 49 minutes west, and 66 degrees 15 minutes south 118 degrees west. Though it is not quite clear whether the meridian of Greenwich or that of Paris is employed in giving somo of the ■ positions mentioned in these reports.

The meteorological results ana briefly summarised for every month. 1 They show the prevalence of north-easterly winds oh the. west side of Graham Land in contrast to the south-westerly winds on the east. These north-easterly winds coming from lower latitudes carry relatively high temperatures far to the southward. The prospect of .valuable results can begathered from the brief forecast Dr. Charcot has published... P.atie'nt labourious *-no appeal to the sensational, i)s "wha-t is required in.Polar regions. Such worjc Dr. Charcot gives us iu his .explorations, and it merits the highest recognition.