TRIP BENEATH THE ICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20619, 18 July 1930, Page 11

TRIP BENEATH THE ICE.

ARCTIC EXPEDITION. WILKINS ON HIS PLANS. NO HELP FROM AUSTRALIA. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. LONDON, July 10. Sir Hubert Wilkins stated in an interview that he proposes to leave New York for tho Arctic in May. His actual expedition will be begun at Spitsbergen with its objective Alaska. I he purpose of the expedition is purely geophysical. Sir Hubert said it would show tho world the possibility of reaching tho North Polo by diving beneath the ice iri a submarine. He should bo able to stay under the ice for a maximum of two and a-half days. He had arranged to broadcast his progress while on the surface. "Why does not Australia help me?" asked tho explorer. "It is romarkablo that an Australian is to head the expedition without a single penny from his own country." Professor H. U. Sverdrup, of Oslo, the greatest living expert on Arctic conditions, was approached by Sir Hubert Wilkins recently in connection with his proposal to cross tho Arctic in a submarine. Sir Hubert asked Professor Sverdrup to examine his plans. Professor Sverdrup was enthusiastic when he had stndied the scheme in all its details. In an interview he said:— " The greatest danger on a submarine cruise would be if no openings were found in the ice, thus making it impossible for the boat to go to tho surface for fresh air; but during the summer ice conditions in the Arctic ocean are so favourable that one cannot sail five nautical miles in either direction without finding open sea. My own experiences on board the Fram and Maud havo been confirmed by reports from airships and aeroplanes which later flow over the Arctic Ocean. Nor is the danger from ice-screwing imminent. Screwing develops so slowly that there should be plenty of time for a submarine to submerge. " There are no icebergs in the Arctic. The huge masses of ice often seen in pictures from the Arctic are icefloes accumulated on top of each other. Icebergs come from glaciers, and the only glaciers in the Polar area aro those on Franz Joseph's Land." The only detail of Sir Hubert's plan which Professor Sverdrup thought impracticable is the idea of equipping the submarine with a trolly on top to prevent collision with tho ice when submerged. " The scientific results of a submarine cruise would bo of the greatest value," he said. " Exact information would be obtained about the temperature, the grade of salt, arid the directions of the currents in the Polar Ocean. The Polar Ocean must not be looked upon as a closed sea; there is a wide connection with the Atlantic Ocean and the currents of the Atlantic and the North Sea cannot lie satisfactorily explained until one has gained sufficient knowledge about the Polar Ocean. All that is now known about the currents in tho Polar Ocean is duo to Professor Nansen's investigations nil board the Fram, but his investigations were not so exact as those we want today. The observations which Sir Hubert may bring back with him may solve many problems which Nansen had to leave unsolved. Sir Hubert may also bring back specimens from the bottom of tho Polar Ocean, and he will be able to contribute to a far wider understanding of tho animal life. " The risks of crossing the area in a submarine are not bigger than those confronting an aeroplane or a dirigible and the chances of securing valuable scientific 'results are far greater."