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50 THE OCEAN AND THE ATMOSPHERE.
ture of the sea into which they protrude. In Spitzbergen and on the
coasts of Southern Greenland, the congealed mass, which often projects
far into the sea, is gradually undermined by the comparatively warm
waves which beat against it, and the remaining fragments overhanging
the water are detached with a terrible noise, and plunge into the ocean.
M. Martins and other members of the French expedition to Spitzbergen
have observed this at the base of all the glaciers of that archipelago. But
in very cold seas, like that of Smith's Strait, the water, being of a still
lower temperature, can not melt the glacier, which continues its course
into the bay, its extreme end reaching far into the depths of the ocean,
like an immense plain gliding over the rocks. Though lighter than the
water, the enormous frozen mass is kept below because of its cohesion to
the mer-de-glace which drives it along. But the moment comes when that
connection breaks, and, obeying at last the force which its buoyancy imparts to it, it shoots to the surface, and after repeated oscillations from the
change in its centre of gravity it rises in huge towers or fantastic peaks.*
We can imagine what a chaotic mass all these fragments, mixed with the
marine ice and the remains of ice-fields, must produce in narrow bays, or
in very contracted arms of the sea. It was across one of these prodigious " packs," in Smith's Strait, that the intrepid'Hayes, with almost superhuman perseverance, passed.
These glistening icebergs are the splendor of Arctic seas. Often of
colossal dimensions, they present at times forms of almost perfect regularity, while at others they assume the most varied and fantastic shapes.
Lofty towers, columns in pairs, with groups of sculpture, and statues,
like marble divinities, rise above the sea. In comparatively warm seas
like those of Spitzbergen, which are affected by the Gulf Stream, the ice
is constantly worn away; and those parts of the floating masses which
rise above the surface of the sea generally assume the appearance of pillars, with more or less overhanging, capitals, fringed with stalactites.
The summit is white and occasionally covered with snow, while the fluting of the column where the more compact ice has been bathed by the
waves has an emerald or sapphire hue. The foundations of the columns
are pierced with caves, into which the water rushes with a hollow murmur; and at times they are riddled with small holes, from which each
wave springs in diverging jets. Silvery fountains burst alternately from
either side of the column, according to the inclination given to it by the
sea.f In very cold water, like that of the Arctic Archipelago, the opposite phenomena occur. Instead of being worn away and melted by
the waves, the blocks fallen from the glaciers at first gradually increase
in dimensions, on account of the low temperature of the water into which
they are plunged, which solidifies around the foot of these enormous
floating towers.J
* Kink; Hayes, The Open Polar Sea.
f Barto von Lowenigh, Mittheilungen von Petermann, Erganzungsheft xvi.
X Edlund, Poggendorfs Annalen, cxxi.
| Title | The ocean, atmosphere, and life |
| Creator | Reclus, Elisée |
| Publisher | Harper |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1873 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000057 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 50 THE OCEAN AND THE ATMOSPHERE. ture of the sea into which they protrude. In Spitzbergen and on the coasts of Southern Greenland, the congealed mass, which often projects far into the sea, is gradually undermined by the comparatively warm waves which beat against it, and the remaining fragments overhanging the water are detached with a terrible noise, and plunge into the ocean. M. Martins and other members of the French expedition to Spitzbergen have observed this at the base of all the glaciers of that archipelago. But in very cold seas, like that of Smith's Strait, the water, being of a still lower temperature, can not melt the glacier, which continues its course into the bay, its extreme end reaching far into the depths of the ocean, like an immense plain gliding over the rocks. Though lighter than the water, the enormous frozen mass is kept below because of its cohesion to the mer-de-glace which drives it along. But the moment comes when that connection breaks, and, obeying at last the force which its buoyancy imparts to it, it shoots to the surface, and after repeated oscillations from the change in its centre of gravity it rises in huge towers or fantastic peaks.* We can imagine what a chaotic mass all these fragments, mixed with the marine ice and the remains of ice-fields, must produce in narrow bays, or in very contracted arms of the sea. It was across one of these prodigious " packs," in Smith's Strait, that the intrepid'Hayes, with almost superhuman perseverance, passed. These glistening icebergs are the splendor of Arctic seas. Often of colossal dimensions, they present at times forms of almost perfect regularity, while at others they assume the most varied and fantastic shapes. Lofty towers, columns in pairs, with groups of sculpture, and statues, like marble divinities, rise above the sea. In comparatively warm seas like those of Spitzbergen, which are affected by the Gulf Stream, the ice is constantly worn away; and those parts of the floating masses which rise above the surface of the sea generally assume the appearance of pillars, with more or less overhanging, capitals, fringed with stalactites. The summit is white and occasionally covered with snow, while the fluting of the column where the more compact ice has been bathed by the waves has an emerald or sapphire hue. The foundations of the columns are pierced with caves, into which the water rushes with a hollow murmur; and at times they are riddled with small holes, from which each wave springs in diverging jets. Silvery fountains burst alternately from either side of the column, according to the inclination given to it by the sea.f In very cold water, like that of the Arctic Archipelago, the opposite phenomena occur. Instead of being worn away and melted by the waves, the blocks fallen from the glaciers at first gradually increase in dimensions, on account of the low temperature of the water into which they are plunged, which solidifies around the foot of these enormous floating towers.J * Kink; Hayes, The Open Polar Sea. f Barto von Lowenigh, Mittheilungen von Petermann, Erganzungsheft xvi. X Edlund, Poggendorfs Annalen, cxxi. |
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