Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-06-02


Baron Nordenskold Is now fairly on his way
to Greenland, for the exploration of both coasts
and Of the interior Of that island continent. His
program is given ct length In Nature for
May 10. The following extracts contain his by
pothesis as to the interior:
1.-THE geological nature of Greenland, very
similar to that Of Scandinavia, seems to indicate
q similar geographical formation, viz, q forma-
tl0n formed OF mountainous ridges alternating
with deep valleys and plains; while one NAV
even assume that the eliminating line of the
land In Greenland runs, as in England and
Sweden and in both American continents along
the west coast. The winds, therefore, which
should produce gnOw In the Interior must, If
coming from the Atlantic, have in the first in
stance crossed the broad ice-belt generally en-
clrcling the east coast of Greenland, and then
the mountains on the coast, some OF which we
know are very high. and, if coming from Davis
Sound, the mountain ridge itself In both cases
the wind would assume the character of the
'FOhm' wind, l. e. 1t must after passing the
mounta1nehans on the coasts be dry and
'These causes are not only the reason of the
dry warm 'Fohm' winds in Switzerland and the
very remarkable circumstance that 1t is under
winds from the snOw-cOvered mountains that
the snow disappears in Swedish Lapland, but
they play also an important part in the climatic
conditions OF the whole globe. They are, for
example, the cause Of the difference in climate
and fora of the two sides OF the Andes. of the
east and west coasts OF TERRA del Fuego, and
In Inc eastern ana western parts of Australia.
They are the chief cause OF the deserts which
cover the interiors OF Asia. Australia the
northern portion OF Africa and certain parts of
America, while In Sweden they produce the con-
slant western winds, and the consequent pro-
longed drought which invariably occurs in
spring time in the central part Of the country.
The same laws OF tho temperature and moisture
OF the air must also prevail in Greenland Here
too the ocean winds must be moist, and this
moisture is usually deposited In the form of
snow on the mountains along the coast, whereas
all those reaching the interior. whether from
east, west, north, or south, must-f the orO-
graphical construction of the country is not en-
tirely different from that Of others on the
globe-be dry and comparatively warm. And
In consequence OF this circumstance. the snow
falls in the interior CT Greenland cannot be sufs-
Client for maintaining perpetual inland ice.
1T cannot, however, be asserted that the
country should here form deserted, treeless
tundra; one encounters in Siberia forests with
giant trees under climatic conditions far more
severe than those we may assume are to be
found in the interior OF Greenland. That the
country should prove true to it's name has be-
sides been asserted by the celebrated bottanist
Hooker, from his studies Of the flora of Green
land. and even the natives on the west coast
themselves have a suspicion that such is the
case, from the large herds OF reindeer which
from time to time are seen to migrate across the
inland ice to the west coast. 1t is most prob
able that the interior, If free from ice. Is like
North European high plateau. with flora far
more copious than that OF the coast. But this !
maintain, that whether the interior of Green
land is richly covered with forests, as the land
round the frigid pole of Siberia, or is a treeless
1ce-free tundra, or even q desert Of perpetual
ice, the solution Of the problem of its real ma
ture Is 80 important, and Of such consequence
to science, that there could hardly, at the
present moment, be conceived an object more
worthy OF an Arctic expedition than to ascer-
tain the true conditions of the interior OF this
particular country"