Page:Polar Exploration - Bruce - 1911.djvu/191

Rh layer that has sunk to the bottom which is being swept northwards towards the equator into the deep abysses of the Atlantic Ocean to the east of the South American coasts. There are many other fascinating problems of oceanic circulation that can only be solved by more extensive deep-sea research in the South Polar Regions.

There is little doubt, for instance, that there is a strong inflow of warm water between longitudes 170° E. and 180° E. where no ship has ever had any difficulty in reaching almost 78° S. Every ship that has ever tried has always been able to reach the foot of Mount Erebus and Mount Terror between these longitudes with comparative ease. Ross took the Erebus and Terror, and since then the Antarctic, the Southern Cross, the Discovery, the Morning (twice), the Terra Nova and the Nimrod have had the same experience, and now Captain Scott, doubtless with equal ease, if he sails between these longitudes, will take the Terra Nova again to McMurdo Strait without encountering any formidable pack ice. Captain Armitage has told me that on board the Discovery during her voyage southward along this route he had no ice navigation, except for a day or so in the vicinity of Cape Adare, and even that could have been avoided had he kept the vessel farther off the land. In spite