Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-01-24
Oahser OF Another Deluge The Northern
misPhere to be Submerged, and New


From Galignani's MESSENGER Dac OF
we nave had occasion to peruse a remark
able work lust published, entitled "Courants
et revolutions de lAtmosphere ct de Ia Mer
3y Lieut. julien. distinguished officer in the
Trench navy. The greater part of the book is
ueNoted 70 general description of Lieutenant
maury splendid theory Of currents and winds
Dy winch he explains the recurrence of storms
ana other meteorological phenomena; but what
nus cnieny attracted our attention is a new
theory on the inevitable periodical return of a
cataclysm similar to that known under the
name OF the Universal Deluge subject which
the author treats with singular lucidity, and of
line: " o'''
Inc author starts from certain facts. some of
%hlcn are generally known, viz l. That the
l,othernai lines Zines where the same degree
OF warmth is observed on our oloheI of ~ y
highest temperature are equally distributed
between northern and southern bemisnberes
the space they occupy in the former bein,
about double Of that which they occupy soutb
OF the equator, so that the southern bemispbere
Is considerably colder, especially towards the
pore, man the northern one. 3 That the sc-
cumuiallon OF Ice at the Antarctic pole is much
more considerable than at the northern. 3
lnat the earth performs the shortest norton of
IL revolution, viz {: that nearest to the peribel
ION, much more rapidly than the other. and at
that period OF the year which comprises the
autumn and winter Of the northern hemis
phere. Hence it follows that the winter of the
latter is shorter (by about eight days. than that
OF the southern hemisphere; and it is during
tnls long winter, when the earth is furtbest
from the sun, that the solar rays must lose in
strength what they gain in duration To this
cause OF dlminutiOn of temperature must be
added the loss of caloric by radiation, and il
VIII then be easy to perceive the reason of the
dlnerence OF temperature between the two hem
spheres. Observation moreover has shown tn at
the quantity OF calorc lost at the South pole in
the course OF year is equal to the surplus alb
Soroed at the North pole. Now let us, with the
author, mentally represent to ourselves the
earth at the moment of its creation, when its
whole surface was covered with water. and its
centre OF gravity coincided with its ceonetri
cal centre From that moment its revolution
around the sun commenced and all those causes
which have led to the Inequality of temnera.
ture between the two hemiSpheres began TO
operate In the course of few centuries the
Ice at the South pole became in consequence
heaVler than that accumulated Mt the North
pole, and the centre of gravity was displaced
southWards; mathematicians in fact, state the
dlStance between the latter and the geOmetri-
cal centre to be about 700 metres Under the
circumstances, what could the LIQUID surface of
the globe do but flow southwark, leaving all the
continent we are so familiar with uncovered
Here NJ. Julien observes that all the regions of
the southern hemishere bear unmistakable
marks of submersion; that America, Africa and
India end In points, all turned towards the
South pole; that the islands of the southern re
glons have the appearance of the SUBMITS of
mountain ranges, and that Lit. Maury's sound
lngs show that the coasts on that side all de-
Scend apruptly into the sea. He further state.
the curious fact that in going from the North to
tne south pole at every parallel the ratio of the
extent OF land to that of the sea diminishes req
ularly and progressively.
Let us now take into consideration the phe-
nomenOn called the Procession of theEnuinores
In virtue of which the first point of Aries re-
cedes upon the ccliptic by about 50 seconds in
a year This gradually causes complete
change IN the seasons: and counting from any
given time, there must elapse Mt least 81 600
before the seasons can return at precisely the
same periods OF the year. 1t has been ascer-
tanned that up to the year l24S of the Christian
era, year in which the first day of winter pre-
cisely coincided with the earth's passa ge
through Its periheliOn, the temperature of the
southern hemisphere had been in constant
course OF diminution. 1t is moreover clear that
after the lapse Of 10, 500 years the seasons on
our globe must be exactly reversed Hence
about 10000 years before the year I24S. or
ll'oOO years before our present time, it was the
north pole, and not its opposite one. which was
In Its maximum OF refrigeration; our present
continents were then submerged, according to
the Mosaic tradition of the Deluge and there
were continents unknown to us in the southern
hemisphere. And again, by the same astro-
nOmical and natural laws, 10, 500 years after
the last cataclysm, new one will occur which
Will again submerge the northern hemisphere
and allow new world to emerge from the cean
in the southern one.