Evening star., 1926-03-16
CHART|NC Of SEA
/ AT POLE NEEDED
Nansen Says Key to Worlds
Weather Lies in Arctic
MeteoroIogy.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, March 16.-The big
gest geographical task awaiting voy-
ayers to sail to the top of the world
10 to chart the depth of the Polar Sea
in all directions and to establish
roughly the boundaries of the conti-
mental shelf This is the opinion of
Fridtjof Nansen. Norwegian scientist
and Arctic explorer, who outlines the
remaining problems of the polar re-
gion in the Forthcoming April issue
of the Forum.
The northernmoSt coast lines OF the
great continents, as they circle about
the polar regions, have been located
and SURVEYS made. There may be
islands, large or small. still waiting
to be discovered in the polar seas. but
there is no likelihood that great
continuous mass OF land has been
overlooked by explorers. DR.. Nansen
concludes.
What has not been done. he eX-
plains. is to map the northern frinSeS
of the continents which are covered
by comparatively shallow water. ThlS
under sea land. known as the contl-
mental shelf, often extends far out be-
Yond the visible coast and is 4 part or
the continent itself The edge OF
continental shelf forms cliff. where
the sea floor drops to the great ocean
depths of several thousand feet.
Lies Close to Surface.
"F'rom the north of Siberia this con-
tfnental shelf extends very far, for
hundreds of miles" says DR.. Nansen.
"Its surface, which is remarkably
even. is not very far below sea level,
much of it being less than l5o feet
down.
"It was over this remarkably shall
low continental shelf that both the
Jeanette NS79.SD and the Maud
Q922.24 drifted along their two years
drift routes. Only at one place.
namely. north of the New Siberian
Island, on the Fram's drift route in
1898. has the edge of this shelf been
definitely located. Al that place 1t
was more than 800 miles north of the
Siberian coast. At another point.
about midway between the New ST
IBERIA Island and Cape Cheljuskln, the
Russian expedition of 1913 took
sounding of 1912 feet without reach
ing bottom. and it seems probable
that they were then at the edge of
the shelf.
Extends Far Out.
North of Canada the continental
shelf also extends for a great dis
tance, but exactly how far is entirely
unknown. North of Alaska. at Point
Barrow and eastward, the edge Of the
shelf comes very near the coast.
Thee Norwegian expedition OF
1895. aboard the Fran, discovered
that there is a deep ocean basin. with
depths ranging from $500 to 1880
feet, in the regions near the North
Pole. SAYS DR.. Nansen. But how far
the deep polar sea extends and where
It is broken by submarine ridges has
not yet been investigated.
The importance of also studying the
physical conditions of the Arctic
wastes is emphasized by DIR. Nansen.
who declares that trying to discover
the laws governing the circulation of
our atmosphere without a knowledge
of the polar regions and their physl-
cal conditions is comparable to the
action of man attempting to study
the laws by which water circulates in
the heating apparatus in a house
without knowing anything about the
radiators that emit the heat"
Seat of Weather Changes.
1t is generally recognized, he adds,
that our weather is affected by me-
neurological conditions in the Arctic
regions, and that observations of the
different layers of the atmosphere
near the earth and at great heights
in different parts of the polar regions
are of the greatest Importance for un-
derstanding the laws which govern the
weather.
Limitations of the airplane have
been demonstrated by Amundsen's ex-
pertinent in the opinion of Nansen,
but the airship he regards as much
more promising. Given a large air
ship, capable of carrying a crew and
equipment for Investigations. he says.
the most important geographical prob
lens of the unknown North can be
solved in the course of few weeks.