Evening star., 1932-04-28

II 1ND the leaks II Lne ArCIlc CUCe.
- This was urged before the
American Geophysical Union,
i meeting here today. by Prof.
william j. Humphreys of the
Y. Gather Bureau as one of the outStand-
ing services to science which could be
rendered during the International Polar
| year. starting this Summer, when the
| North Pole will be circled by observing
stations manned by scientists Of Is ma
| tionS.
DR.. Humphreys pictured the Arctic
Basin as the Northern Hemisphere s
reservoir of cold. The cooled air sinks
as warmer air, pushed northward from
the Equator, flows in on top OF 1t. This,
| in turn Is cooled and sinks, forcing the
| air underneath it to find an outlet. DR..
Humphreys wants these outlets located
| so definitely that weather forecasters
| can rely upon the data.
| Such information, he believes, might
60 far to explain some Of the abnormal
weather experienced in the United States
during the last three years.
THE case is analogous" DR.. Hum
phreys said. Ito that Of keeping a
reservoir with a constant supply from
oyerfioving by means Of outlet pipes
| overflow along any one is just as e1ec-
tive in keeping down the level OF the
water as an equal flow along any otner
| would be. 1t commonly would occur
that such reservoir would be drained
more frequently, and to greater ex-
tent along certain of its outlets than
along others Similarly the Arctic Basin
of cold air Is more likely to drain. we
believe along some courses than along
others We would not expect this drain
age to be frequent and strong across
Siberia and the great highlands OF
Asis in exchange with warm winds OF
the indian ocean. Neither would we
EXPECT this change to be indifferent 70
the extent and location OF Greenland
| or to the great mountain ranges ol
Scandinavia.
Four Favored Courses.
'We would expect it to occur III
greatest amount and greatest frequency
| slonp those routes first encountered py
| the spreading cold air that are but lltIie
ohstriIcted by mountain ridges or otner
! biohIand barriers. Such favored courses
presumably are the Mckenzie BASIN
Mississippi Valley route from the Arctlc
| to the Gulf of Mexico, the HUDSON Bay
Great lakes course, the Arctic Ocean
Northeastern Atlantic Track ana the
| Finland Russia route.
| TT seems practically certain that IN
MANY cases outpouring OF the cold ar
along one of the more favoraole routes
| will be so excessive as to drain the
| basin to such an extent that an ap-
/ nreciable time. days at least, Will De
required to refill it. Also an outnoW
along any particular course so dlsplaces
| the reservoir in that direction, and so
| chills that route, as to make the next
outbreak more likely to follow IN the
wake OF the first than 1t otherwise
would be. Perhaps in this way long
spells of weather Of one kind are pro-
duced in one part of the world ana the
opposite kind in another-Warm ana
dry, for instance, in the United states
and cool and wet in Europe.
"These deductions appear to be so
direct as to leave little room for doubt
of their truth, but many modifying fac
tors were omitted from the premises. II
must be followed up by abundant obser-
vations especially Of wind direction at
various heights, not only at many
places within the Arctic Circle, but
also at a much greater number in the
temperate zone, especially its polewaro
half"
An explanation Of the origin Of the
great ocean currents, such as the Gun
Stream, which have a profound effect
on the earths weather, was advanced
by DR.. w. F. Mcdonald of the Weather
Bureau.
Provided it's temperature remains
constant, DR.. Mcdonald said, the higher
the salt content the heavier the water.
The water which river pours into the
sea thus tends to be lighter than the
water of the sea itself. Hence it stays
on the surface, pressing down upon the
heavier water underneath and causing
displacements.
Enormous Load on Waters.
Much of the larger portion Of the
total land surface of the globe" he said,
drains into the Arctic Atlantic trough,