Abstract
THE Expedition left Hammerfest on July 13 on its trip westwards. The depths sounded on the following days were not great, the greatest being 1,440 fathoms in 72° 16′ N. lat. and 8° 9′ E. long. On the 17th, late in the evening, we unexpectedly met the ice of the Greenland Arctic current, in 73° 10′ N. lat. and 3° 22′ W. long., and were obliged to turn eastwards and northwards. Our next cross section commenced in 75° 16′ N. lat. and 0°54′ W. long., and went along the 75th parallel to a point north-east of Bear Island. On the westernmost point we had a depth of 1,985 fathoms, but later only smaller depths. The bank west of Bear Island lies much more easterly and nearer this island than shown in the charts, there being a depth of 1,100 fathoms, in the place where the French Expedition with La Recherche in 1839 gives 259 fathoms. The weather was in the beginning favourable, but under the ice we had strong northerly winds with a temperature of 2° C. and a heavy swell from the south-east. Having passed the meridian of Bear Island the temperature of the water fell to 0′ 2° C. on the Spitz-bergen Bank. From our last sounding and dredging station north-east of Bear Island we sailed down to the east side of the island and stopped outside the south-east side, but the heavy wind and sea did not allow us to go on shore. With the glass we saw distinctly the Russian hut and its environs, but were not able to see our flag, which we had planted by the Dutch port, nor any column or cairn which could show us that the Dutchmen had been there. At 10 P.M. on July 23 we made sail for Norway, and with a fair but rather heavy gale and storm the, Vöringen went on, heavily rolling, till we, twenty-four hours afterwards, made the Norwegian coast in thick rainy weather. At 4 A.M. on the 24th we dropped our anchor in Hammerfest.
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MOHN, H. THE NORWEGIAN NORTH ATLANTIC EXPEDITION . Nature 18, 425 (1878). https://doi.org/10.1038/018425a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/018425a0