BRILLIANT RESULTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1707, 26 March 1913, Page 8

BRILLIANT RESULTS.

MAWSON'S EXPEDITION*

VALUABLE SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION EXPECTED ' The experiences of the Mawson Antarcthe expedition were recently reviewed by Professor David, who stated that lie found the news of absorbing interest. Professor David said the account published showed that from a scientific point of view the results of tho Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Di I '. Mawson were brilliant, and exceeded the most sanguine -expectation. "At this stage, it is of course early, said Professor David, "to attempt anything like an exhaustive criticism of the scientific results already obtained, _ but soni'3 preliminary remarks may saieiy be offered.'

' "Olio of the longest of tho five sledge -journeys acuomplisliul by l)r. Mawson's main party was that .made by Messrs. Bags,. Webb, ami Hurley. From _ their starting point at Adelie I-and, it is approximately DOO miles, in a south-east direction to the position where the area of tho South Magnetic Pole was shown -to'be by the party that visited it 011 the Shacldeton expedition in 1909. -At that timo wo proved that the Pole had. probably migrated some JO miles to the northwest of the position assigned for it |as the result 6£ theoretical.calculations soino six years before. It is possible that between 119(1!) and 1912 the Pole, may have moved somewhat further in a north-west direction, that is, nearer to Adelie Land, but this movement would probably not amount to', more than 20 or 80 miles. Consequently, {lie three travellers—without allowance- I:eing made for detours around crevasses—had to' proceed in a, .foeeline some. 170 or 480 miles in order to reach ■the Magnetic Pole area. Of the three men, Hurley, of Sydney, is an expert photographer and evidently, «s may be judged from the kiwi of trip, proved himself a very competent sledger. Webb is an accomplished magnetician, whose services were generously lent to Dr. :llawsoii_ by the Carnegie Research Institute. He is a 'Jfpw Zealander, who has already done imports at work on the magnetic survey, of r.;Australia. , Uage is a distinguished graduate of the .University of Melbourne, .und has a good knowledge of physics. The party, therefore, was highly competent, for its work, though the fact that none of them ;had previously had experience in Polar travelling .may have contributed to their missing' one at least of their depots, and so nearly perishing from starvation.

It is certainly to be regretted that they were unabloto complete the fast 50 miles of the .journey, as it would have been exceedingly interesting to know wlmt is tho actual vertical magnetic force at the South 'Magnetic Pole itself. On tlie occasion of the 1909 s expedition it was found that theweights supplied with the LloydCrealc dip circle—the instrument used, for locating the Pole—were hopelessly insufficient to b-ilancQ the great vertical pull on the magnetic' needle. One would also have, liked to know exactly the width of the Magnetic Pole area—that is, the area within which during a single day ol\ year tho magnetic needle" would .bo from time to time exactly vortical. fact, however, that , two export observers like Webb anil Bage were able to approach so near will have assured tlio securing of very valuable observations: Evidently tho whole of the party were within an ace of losing their lives in tho cause-of science. "If tho distance of 17 miles of detailed coastal survey accomplished by 'Messrs. Stillwell, Hodgeman, and Close is correct, this area must have been minutely, studied, and the details will doubtless be a very useful contribution to our knowledge of, glacial conditions in that part of the' Antarctic. A substantial addition to known, facts in regard to the geography of tlio west of- A'Jolie Land has befln given by Messrs. . Bickcrton, IVTiether, and Hodgeman, who in their sledge journey covered 309 miles. .

"Thegeographical Tesults obtained by Frank-Wild's party are particularly gratifying. He has' had an absolutely unknown field upon which to work, and his sledging journeys of over 1500 miles will furnish exceedingly important data in regard to that part of the Antarctic. Above all, his meteorological observations, when added, to tho?a of Dr. llawson, Amundsen, and Captain Scott, will bo- of priceless value. Of all the important contributions to science which are likely to accrue from this Australasian expedition, none will be morfeiiimportant than that to meteorology. Tho speed and persistence in direction of the' winds experienced at both Dr. Alawson's - and Wild's bases are entirely beyond what scientists would have deemed to have been the bounds of possibility. It is obvious that the irirushing for weeks at a time of these masses of cold air from the Antarctic Continent near Adelie Land into the low-pressure areas ,of tho Southern Ocean just north of the Antarctic Circle must have, a very far-reaclijng influence on weather conditions within the Southern,-Hemisphere. This emphasises more than ever tho need for linking tip our chain of observing stations all tho way from Australia and New Zealand to the Antarctic Continent itself. Meanwhile, as a useful and most necessary preliminary, it is greatly to bo desired that the wireless meteorological station at Jlacqnario Island will bo retained by the Commonwealth on a permanent basis. There can be no question whatever that the gain to meteorology would be so substantial as to repay amply the comparatively small sum needed for the upkeep of this station, which becomes moro than ever necessary as a means of communicating with Dr. JEawson in Antarctica during this winter and spring.

"In counting up the gains to science, one must, not forget that Captain Davis and his officers and men of the Aurora have secured n useful and valuable series of soundings in a hitherto bathymctrically unknown' and extensive area in the Southern Ocean between the coasts of Australasia and those of Antarctica." In regard to tho commercial nnd scientific value of information on the subject of the South' Magnetic Pole, Professor David remarked that the latter was not a small and absolutely fixed spot, but a sub-circular or elliptical area nf im known about 30 miles across—within any .'portion of which the magnetic needle would point\ vertically downwards during some nortion of the v-oar. "That is," he nroceeded, "that while nt any moment of time'the Magnetic Pole can be proved by delicnto instruments to-be a comparatively small spot, that snot or force-centre .is moving from 'hour'to liour, day to day, and Week to week: but its gyrations are restricted to the .boundaries'-of the Magnetic. Polo urea;; whatever its size and shape may bo »roved to be. One great object of Dr. expedition was to ascertain the nature and extent of the wanderings of ~,t|ie Magnetic 'pole-'within this area; and not only that, but to determine further the direction nnd movement .of the whole urea itself. The movements of the Magnetic -Pole niay be compared' roughly to that of a ball in the case of a boy whirling it attached to a'string round and round his head-at arm's length, and at the same tinio running with it in a definite direction. ■■-*

"It is well known that the direction In .which .the compass points at any particular 'tinie, at any particular place in tho Southern Hemisphere, depends chiefly upon the exact positioii at that timo of the Southern Magnetic Pole. For tho pnr-, pose of accurate navigation it becomes, therefore, extremely important for masters of ships to know, the exact nature ond direction of the movement of the Magnetic Pole." "The. calculations ns. well as observations necessary are so intricate that, after nine months': observations by Amundsen in regard to the North Magnetic Pole, tlie explorer's figures had been in process of reduction for seven years by scientists at Christiania. Amundsen had said it would take five years more for the calculations to bo made. "Then," said Professor David to him. "we shall probablv know'. where tho Magnetic Pole is." "No,"'Amundsen 1 replied, "wo shall, then know exactlv whpre it was 12 years ago " "Tt may be said," Professor David added, "that, nnder conditions of hardship seldom equalled on any Polar journey, about 1000 miles of . new coastline have<been charted; considerable biological and geological collections and observations have.been.' accumulated;'continuous mag-netic-observations - have been taken for about a year, and actually iip to within 50 miles of tho South Magnetic Pole. Constant meteorological records have been obtained 'at. tho very homo of the great Antarctic storms, which so seriously affcct

the weather of the Commonwealth anil | the Dominion. For the first time in the history of the world wirelojw communication, now likely to he regular, has been established between Antarctica' and Australasia, the weather (lata daily transmitted from Macquarie I-dand proving of great value to tlie nveleorologists of the Commonwealth and Ntw Zealand. The scientific harvest is plenteous. As a mere athletic feat, the accomplishment of no less than about JOOO miles of sledging in a single, season by a party of ,T2 men ovc-r fearfully crevassed ice, and often in the teeth of terrible gales, is a truly-fine record, which lia'.s probably never been surpassed, and it must not be forgotten that jMany of these sledge journeys (all in the ease of Wild's party) were accomplished entirely ljy man-hauling. The successful .navigation of the Aurora in the tempestuous icy seas of the south is a splendid l>iecs of seamanship. Surely Ihe verdict of history will bo that the reputations for courage, self-reliance, and hardihood so hardly won by Australian pioneers in, the past has been 110 more diminished in the hands of Dr. Mawson and his men than has that of the old countries in the hands of Mr..Frank Wild, Captain Davis, their lost comrades, Lieutenant Ninnis and Dr. Hertz. In Dr. Maw.=on's, as in Captain 'Scott's, expedition, tho price of victory has been heavy. The lives of two heroic pioneers have vanished on the snows of the great white continent, but their work for science endures and witnesses for them."