The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1872-11-28
POLAR REGIONS

At the last meeting Of the Geographic
/ cal Society Of Vienna (Austrial, there
/ was read IA paper by the Minister of
I War, Baron yon Kuhn, on the reasons
! for believing IN the existence of q sea free
! from, ice In the Polar regions. As Is
/ generally known, this question has been
! much discussed Of late at Vienna, owing
| partly to the recent German expedition
! TO the North Poe, bat Principally TO the
new expedition which IS being organized
| tunder Austrian auspices this tIme) by
! Messrs. Weyprecht and Payer.
The idea set forth in the paper OF the
/ Baron Won Kuhn is very interesting, and
not less cQrlous. In the opinion of the
author, the influence Of the Gulf Stream
ana OF the river. or currents, Of Asia, is
GOT the only determining reason for be-
HeVlDg IN the existence OF an open sea
account should also he taken of the cur
rent of hot air which, rising in he Saba
ra and IN Arabia, IL attracted TO the 70
lar regions, II virtue vi the same laws
that govern the hot water currents just
referred to-
It is to the force of this current of air
"a force which is variable in degree
that must be attributed the freedom
from ice Of certain parts Of the Polar sea.
The laws OF motion, as we'll as the posi-
ton of the masses of the continents which
produce these currents Of hot ir,explain
why large areas free from ice must exist,
particularly between Spitzbergen, Nova
Iembla, and the coast of Siberia, and
not on the American side Of the Polar
region. Now, intense heat Is known to
have been felt in the Sahara, both III
1868 and I669-a fact which made it
easy to foresee that navigators would
find In their explorations a sea free from
ice In 1871 ]; but, as the author remarks
in concluding, who can say whether this
viii be the case In the present year?
In q commu lIcation addressed TO the
Journal O6jcteL, III. Anceion, member
of the French Chamber Of Deputies, i'm
pugn5 the accuracy of Baron Won Kuhn's
theory. In the opinion of the learned
French writer, the movement Of the Gulf
Stream Is but consequence OF the same
cause which maintains the Sea OF kabn<
III liquid state amidst the masses OF
Polar ice. with your permission, Il
Will leave out OF the question the currents
OF hot air arrived from the Sahara and
Arabia, in order to get at the real cause
Of the liquefaction Of the Sea of Kahn,
as well as Of the action of the Gulf
Stream.
4 source Of heat far more important,
far more powerful, than those developed
by the Gull Stream, by the rivers OF
Asia, or even by the streams of hot air
from the Sahara, must have been ne
cessary to establish and perpetuate il
the midst of the ice an unfrozen sea Of
determined extent upon point OF the
globe where its position is variable,
though but in a very slight degree.
Now this source Of heat, SO mighty in
Its power, SO iacessant IN its action, Is the
magnetic pole.
This pole, whose displacement cores
ponds to the displacement Of the terres
trial pole, always occupies the centre of
the Sea Of Kahn the consequence of
this is, that, in the same measure as the
polesare displaced, the circumference Of
this liquid sea trenches upon the circle
OF ice which surrounds it, the encroach
ments taking now an eastern, now a west
ern, now a northern, now southern
direction, rs 1t may happen
As for the Gulf Stream. It is simply
obodient to the magnetic current, which
ascends from the South to the North
Pole.