Page:Polar Exploration - Bruce - 1911.djvu/203

Rh value of such a network of meteorological stations in the southern hemisphere, where, on account of the huge expanse of ocean, atmospheric conditions are simplified and there are not so many of those disturbing conditions which upset the most careful calculations in the northern hemisphere, where the oceans are of less account, and only serve to separate from one another land masses of varying size and character. If all the surface of the globe were water or land of uniform altitude, meteorology would be simplicity itself, but as it is, it is one of the most complex sciences existing. It is, therefore, very essential to concentrate our energies on those parts of the terrestrial globe where conclusions are most likely to be arrived at concerning the general laws which govern the climate and weather of the world. In the far south the conditions are simpler than in any other part of the world, hence the importance of making a special study of meteorology round about the South Pole.

It is not so easy to place an economic, or even a scientific, value on the meteorological work that has been done in the North Polar Regions. It is very difficult to analyse properly Arctic observations, owing, as before stated, to the more complex distribution of land and water in that region. But there is no doubt that one of the difficulties is the desultory fashion