Page:Polar Exploration - Bruce - 1911.djvu/46

42 crevasse was of great interest, as it gave us a very clear idea of the inner structure of the ice. The same splendid stratification could be seen here as that which often occurs in the large icebergs, thus proving that the ice had been formed of layers of snow deposited, during long periods, the one upon the other, and being, too, a new proof of the transition, found in these regions, from glacier to sea ice. I think, too, that the Antarctic icebergs need not necessarily have their origin on land, but that they can also be built up on a base of sea ice in shallow water near the land."

Nordenskjold's idea that Antarctic icebergs may be built up on a base of sea ice is not altogether new, for Captain Cook previously made that suggestion, though without the great scientific qualifications that Nordenskjold has for expressing such an opinion, and also without the knowledge of the existence of these barriers or ice-terraces that have been discovered in the Antarctic Regions by Ross and Nordenskjold since Cook's voyage. But from my experience in the Polar Regions during twenty years I cannot conceive of these Antarctic bergs being built up from a base of sea ice.

There appears to be little doubt, however, that the Ross Barrier is to a great extent afloat. But Sir George Darwin's "guess"