IN ANTARCTICA.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2114, 3 April 1914, Page 10

IN ANTARCTICA.

TWO roils OF ECONOMIC INTEREST WEATHER AND COAL FIELDS Professor David, -of tjio IfiiiveMity &f Sydney, says that, there are two points oi special economic interest- which lutve lately como to -l-igfet -iji regard to th& Antarctic. The most important Wus probably the -one which related to Antarctica .in He control f>i tho weather in the Southern. Hemisphere. Quito recently ilr, Ji. 0. Vi.essman liad made an important disMvery that tjhsfp wiis a. most, intimate com-ieciioii between the state of the ice in* tlio Woddell Sea and West was tho ■ part nearest to South America, and tho weather in, the wb-tropitfs of CtiiJo ..and. Brazil. It had proved as tho resuit. (if Pr> iiaiy-soii'S establishment of a unless* station .at'filasqsiario Island, that.an intiu.n.to relation existed between the development., of e.ye.louic storms in sub-Antarctic regions and the weather in Australia and A'ew Zealand. Mr. lL A. liiflvt, Cojiimonwealth. Sfo.teorftlogistj nttd t3io .meteorologist oi N6\v. &aland ivetts.ipijtts satisfied on th.at point:. Wlifell ttie-r'O was a , large, a-momvfc or sea itio developed that' ' there- was a, Gorres^ndjiigly. J'uercased a.'rea of tho heavy cold air overlying the ■sea ic.e. Tile...effect of .alt - 'this was-to s.e-t mp. ah abnormally high baibinetrtc pressure tii Aiitarctica- iiiid sub-Aiitarctica. regions-. This Wavy -jtrea iflade from, the South Hole towards the Equator, ;liid m'SO darrtg forced: forward- tbo rain belts of -South America, thus giving_ tho southern, tiub-tropi'cs a- heavier rainfall t-lian usual." ' ~ The Commonwealth Government, hatt. decided t-liQ Is- ; land station for another year, and it iftis hoped' that it '.vould, be kept up ■ on a ])ermaiient- basis. It- might be mtsoftflfly ilfpfecfed rcsiite, s as had been sccurcd by half _ a dozen I mtttewologica-l stations established by J tlio Argovitine Uej.)ubiic in >sub-Antarc-tica wottld-accrtte.. Also stations t'6t(s cs.tablisiied in tho Boss Sea fft> gioa o'l tijo Antarctica, thut special ati en) ion ivonld be paid to tiiis new disccnerv by the Shaokieton expeditior. ."The sfete .df the ico in tho Boss Sea,'' lie continued, •'will bo- lnurh iiiore closely observed than heretofore, with ii, view to discoveiing whetlier it lias it marked effect on the Australian wea"'tbo second point of special economic interest iu regard to Antarctica is tho immense coalfield—a knowledge of t-ho ■ extent of which, has been greatly . cli-: forged bv Dr, Jlaivson's recent expedition. it has now been proved that this coalfield is at least 1200 miles i.u ; , length -and 100 miles in width. Indeed, tho probability is that the field is {at: - wider, it is liot known exactly how ■fat the coal Seams, tff 'whieh there, are fl.t least seven, will prove as hitiierto only small fragments have been obtained, The .aLitaiy&i'?.. of tho coal brought back by tho Shaekleton expedition showed it i.o' lib of lair qaiajitv. f might state that, those.coal measures are considered by^-.Mr. .Frairli Deberihani i and Mr. T./Ci-rtQiths, Taylor, of Sydney, to be of the sniue age as the coal nieasures of 'Easreni. Australia. 'J'hero 'is thus, in all pi.o.babilfty,,ioire of the, largest umvorked eoaifields- in the world oil: that side o.f the Antarctic regions which lie nesi-rest to Australia. In. fact, there can be. littlo doubt- that it underlies tlio thick ice of the South Polar plateau. Remains of fossil trees of considerable size have already beer, discov-; ered, sonio' of Iheni within 360 miles of the South Pole, itself-, y ■

'''life marvel- of this 'discovery' will be realised when ,it is saifl that ilisso regions a» flow,, for five... ■iricai't'li.s-- in every '.year, in total darkness. • This s'(!,gg£sts soriio vbrjr' edi.fjiiirfiG' tioiis as to tho position, of.the southern axis of tho rotation, or the' earth at..the "tiiSro tlfo.se coalfields werofotined, iSaipq of iho wood found is coniferous, and, as ; coniferous .trees do not no\v floiTris.ii i'o.jar circl.cs, it must, tm ws,snnied either that. iho position of tlicv earth's axis of rotation ha? changed ur that the. Antarctic continent has movtid sufficiently. Slick horizontal, or suri'ace. movements 'Of tlie crust of tho earth., so siow as io be hardly appreciable at' present, would, if prolong.od for millions ■of years, bring •about a very considerable, replacement. ■ '"Many scientists : w'itli whom this mat-' tor ivss discussed by 111 c recently in'the Old Country were inclined to. the latter opinion. ■ There can bo little doubt that-, providing the coal seams of the .Antarctic havo not bCcn_ too seriously damaged !>y the. missive intrusions of igneous rocks, .tiiey will bo worked in the near future, when some of the accessible supplies ill other parts of tlio. world are teo.wijig exfoiistoij. If: payable gold is found in tho Antarctic, obviously gold may also be worked in tho near future. Tliero would, of course, be 110 more difficulty iii working metalliferous ores i.n the Antarctic thaii Alaska.