The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1928-11-14
WILKINSSEEKS
NEW CONTINENT
ON EXPEDITION
Information on 'Antarctica'
Structure Expected 10 De-
velop from Plane Hop
COUNTRY Is UNk NOW N
Channel Separating East and
West Antarctic Is One OBJ
ject of Journey

New York Nov. 14.-(P)-Thc
possibility Of discovering new con-
tinent-probably the last in the
world-lies in the scope Of the Will
kins expedition to the Antarctica.
This expedition of two planes,
three flyers and mechanic is head
ed for that great sector of Antarc-
tica which no man has seen, stretch
about as long as the United States
is wide, that geographers have said
may be separated from Antarctica
BY an ice capped strait.
So completely unknown is most
OF this area that any additional
knowledge whatever will go far to-
ward permanent conclusions about
its structure.
On present maps Antarctica is
shaped somewhat like a tadpole, it's
head toward Australia and its tail
projecting far northward toward
toward South America. From Cape
Horn to this tail is less than 1000
miles, but everywhere else an ocean
about as wide as the North Atlantic
surrounds Antarctica. From the
tail of the tadpole, down the west
side, is the largest unknown portion
of the frozen continent.
Continent Is Separate
1t is this portion that Wilkins pro-
poses to explore. starting from the
tail tip. At the far end Of this strip
lies Ross Sea, base of the Byrd ex-
petition. On the east side of the
tail is Weddell Sea, great indenta-
ton in Antarctica, which, if it con-
meets with Ross Sea, makes a separ-
ate continent Of the land over which
Wilkins plans to fly.
Geographers have assumed that
this area is land, and that there is
possibly connection between the
two seas named.
Wilkins himself has said he be-
lieves the unknown coast is low.
Elsewhere in Antarctica the known
coasts are high. Sir Douglas Nav
son in Problems and Polar Research
Of the American Geographical
society of New York, says:
Sediment Tells Story
whether the rocky basement
under the polar ice dome is continu-
ously above sea level, or whether it
exists merely as number of island
like units, we are certain from the
nature of the sediments composing
those portions already examined and
the story unfolded in the strata, that
we are dealing with a convexity of
continental proportions, which has
been at some periods above and at
others below the sea.
"Are the inter-island channels
choked to the very bottom with
glacier ice SO that the ice rides on
rock bottom below sea level? Or
does the water in some at least of
these maintain a flow deep down
under the Gaping ice, so that the
inter-island ice caps, though very
thick and of land origin, are yet
afloat on sea water?
Channel Is Sought
1--WE are arrested by the fact en-
phasized by Nordenskjold and others,
to the effect that the geology of that
prolongation of Antarctica lying
southwark Of Cape Horn is totally
unlike that prevailing in the lofty
land mass lying to the south of Aus
tralia.
"The question that has long been
before us is whether or not an arm
OF the sea separates East Antarctica
from West Antarctica. Their want
OF correspondence, structurally and
geologically, is favorable to the ex-
istence Of such a channel Also,
arms Of the oceans. represented by
Weddell Sea on one side and the Ross
Sea on the other, do extend from
either hemisphere into the Antarctic
unknown in just such locations as
support the contention of dividing
channell."