StationLatitudeLongitudeHWIntervalLWIntervalMean Riseand Fall°´°´hmhmFeetCape Sheridan8227612110314141.76Point Aldrich830769447581500.84Cape Bryant822155300036221.07C. Morris Jesup8340333510494330.38Fort Conger8144644411355154.06Fort Conger[6]8144644411335204.28
The harmonic constants for these places will be given in a paper on Arctic Tides about to be issued by the Coast and Geodetic Survey.
As indicated by its name, a "lunitidal interval" is the time elapsing between the passage of the moon across the meridian of the place or station and the occurrence of high or low water. If two stations have the same longitude, then the difference between the lunitidal intervals for the two stations denotes the difference in the times of occurrence of the tides. If they have not the same longitude, then the intervals must be converted into lunar hours (1 lunar hour = 1.035 solar hours) and increased by the west longitude of the stations expressed in hours. The result will be the tidal hours of the stations expressed in Greenwich lunar time. The difference between the tidal hours for two stations will be the difference in the time of occurrence of the tides expressed in lunar hours.
One of the most important results brought out from the tidal observations of the expedition is the fact that high water occurs two hours earlier (in absolute time) at Cape Columbia than at Cape Sheridan. The Cape Columbia tides are even earlier than the tides along the northern coast of the Spitzbergen Islands. These facts prove that the tide at Cape Columbia comes from the west. It is the Baffin Bay tide transmitted, first, northwesterly through the eastern portion of the Arctic Archipelago to the Arctic Ocean, and then easterly along the northern coast of Grant Land to Cape Columbia. That the tide wave should be felt after a passage of this kind, instead of practically disappearing after entering the Arctic Ocean, is one argument for the existence of a waterway of limited width to the northwest of Grant Land. This suggests that Crocker Land, first seen by Peary on June 24, 1906, from an altitude of about 2000 feet, may form a portion of the northern boundary of this channel or waterway.
The tides along the northern coast of Greenland are due mainly to the large rise-and-fall occurring at the head of Baffin Bay. The Arctic Ocean being of itself a nearly tideless body so far as semidaily tides are concerned, it follows that the time of tide varies but little as one goes through Smith Sound, Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, and Robeson Channel; in other words there exists a stationary oscillation in this waterway. The northeasterly trend of the shore line of Peary Land beyond Robeson Channel and the deflecting force due to the earth's rotation tend to preserve, far to the northeastward and partly in the form of a free wave of transmission, the disturbance resulting from the stationary oscillation in the straits. The tide observations indicate that this disturbance is felt as far as Cape Morris Jesup, where the semidaily range of tide is only 0.38 foot. At Cape Bryant, northeast of Robeson Channel, the range is 1.07 feet. These values, taken in connection with the Robeson Channel disturbance, indicate that the time of tide along the coast of Peary Land becomes later as one travels eastward from Cape Bryant.
Owing to the comparatively short distance between Cape Bryant and Cape Morris Jesup, it is probable that at the latter point the crest of the wave transmitted from the southwest will appear to arrive much earlier than will the crest of the wave passing between Spitzbergen Islands and Greenland. In this way the small size of the semidaily tide at Cape Morris Jesup, as well as its time of occurrence, can be partially explained.
A no-tide point doubtless exists in Lincoln Sea, off Peary Land.
The semidiurnal tidal forces vanish at the Pole and are very small over the entire Arctic Ocean. As a consequence the semidiurnal portion of the tide wave in these regions is almost wholly derived from the tides in the Atlantic Ocean. The diurnal forces attain a maximum at the Pole and produce sensible tides in the deeper waters of the Arctic Ocean. Such tides are essentially equilibrium tides for this nearly enclosed body of water. The diurnal portion of the Baffin Bay tide produces the diurnal portion of the tide in Smith Sound, Kane Basin, and Kennedy Channel. In passing from Fort Conger to the Arctic Ocean one could reasonably expect to find a great change in the time of occurrence of the diurnal tide in going a comparatively short distance; in other words the change in the tidal hour for the diurnal wave would probably be considerable where the Baffin Bay tide joins the arctic tide.
Peary's observations show that such is the case. They show that the diurnal tide at Cape Bryant, Cape Sheridan, Point Aldrich, and Cape Morris Jesup follows that at Fort Conger by respective intervals of 3½, 5, 6, and 8 hours. They also show that in going northward from Fort Conger to Point Aldrich the ratio ofthe two principal diurnal constituents approximates more and more nearly to the theoretical ratio; that is, to the ratio between the two corresponding tidal forces. This is what one would expect to find in passing from a region possessing diurnal tides derived from the irregular tides of Baffin Bay to a region where the equilibrium diurnal tides of the Arctic become important.
The range and time of occurrence of the diurnal tide at Point Aldrich do not differ greatly from their equilibrium values based upon the assumption of a deep polar basin extending from Grant Land and the Arctic Archipelago to the marginal waters off the portion of the coast of Siberia lying east of the New Siberian Islands. But De Long's party observed tides at Bennett Island in 1881. From these observations it is seen that the diurnal tide has a much smaller range than would be permissible under the hypothesis of deep water in the portion of the Arctic Basin just referred to. The diurnal tides at Pitlekaj, Point Barrow, and Flaxman Island are, as noted below, also too small to permit of this hypothesis. The smallness of the diurnal tide in the cases cited can probably be explained on no other assumption than that of obstructing land masses extending over a considerable portion of the unknown region of the Arctic Ocean.
No further attempt will be made here to prove the necessity for a tract of land, an archipelago, or an area of very shallow water situated between the present Arctic Archipelago and Siberia. A brief discussion of this question, together with a tidal map of the Arctic Regions, will be found in a paper about to be issuedby the Coast and Geodetic Survey and which has been already referred to. A few pertinent facts may, however, be mentioned.
(1) At Point Barrow, Alaska, the flood stream comes from the west and not from the north, as the hypothesis of an extensive, deep polar basin implies.
(2) The semidaily range of tide at Bennett Island is 2.5 feet, while it is only 0.4 foot at Point Barrow and 0.5 foot at Flaxman Island, Alaska. This indicates that obstructing land masses lie between the deep basin or channel traversed by theFramand the northern coast of Alaska.
(3) The observed tidal hours and ranges of tide show that the semidaily tide is not propagated from the Greenland Sea to the Alaskan coast directly across a deep and uninterrupted polar basin.
(4) The observed ranges of the diurnal tides at Teplitz Bay, Franz Josef Land; at Pitlekaj, northeastern Siberia; and at Point Barrow and Flaxman Island have less than one-half of their theoretical equilibrium values based upon the assumption of an uninterrupted and deep polar basin.
In addition to these facts are the following items which have a bearing upon the shape and size of this unknown land:
The westerly drifting of theJeannette.
The westerly drifting north of Alaska observed by Mikkelsen and Leffingwell.
The existence of Crocker Land.
The shoaling indicated by a sounding of 310 fathoms taken in Lat. 85° 23´ N.
The eastward progression of the tide wave along the northern coast of Grant Land as shown by observations at Point Aldrich, Cape Sheridan, and Cape Bryant.
The great age of the ice found in Beaufort Sea.
Items of some importance in this connection, but which cannot be regarded as established facts are:
The probable westerly courses taken by casks set adrift off Point Barrow and off Cape Bathurst, the one recovered on the northeastern coast of Iceland, the other on the northern coast of Norway;
The question suggested by Harrison whether or not enough ice escapes from the Arctic to account for the quantity which must be formed there if one were to adopt the assumption of an unobstructed polar basin.
Taking various facts into consideration, it would seem that an obstruction (land, islands, or shoals) containing nearly half a million square statute miles probably exists. That one corner lies north of Bennett Island; another, north of Point Barrow; another, near Banks Land and Prince Patrick Island; and another, at or near Crocker Land.
Meteorology.—Regular hourly observations of the thermometer and barometer were carried on day and night by the tide observers.
A brief résumé of the results obtained is given below, together with a few taken from the Report of the Proceedings of the U. S. Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay by Lieutenant (now General) A. W. Greely.
Temperatures
Cape SheridanFort Conger[7]MaximumMinimumcenterMean°°°°November 14-30- 7-39-23.96December, 1908- 5-53-29.22-28.10January, 1909- 6-49-30.61-38.24February, 1909- 7-49-31.71-40.13March, 1909+13-52-20.87-28.10April, 1909+13-37-15.63-13.55May, 1909+46-15+18.00+14.08June, 1909+52+15+31.51+32.65November 17-December 18, 1908- 7-39-25.75January 16-February 12, 1909-21-48-35.48May 17-May 22, 1909+37+12+22.97June 11-June 25, 1909+50+25+34.17
Temperatures
StationDateMaximumMinimumMean°°°Point Aldrich near Cape ColumbiaNov. 17-Dec. 13, 1908-14-46-31.96Cape BryantJan. 16-Feb. 12, 1909-12-55-36.68Cape Morris JesupMay 17-May 22, 1909+35+16+27.92Fort CongerJune 11-June 25, 1909+54+28+34.44Fort Conger[7]June 11-June 25, 1882+44.4+26.7+34.883Fort Conger[8]June 11-June 25, 1883+39.6+26.4+33.393
From these values we see that from November 17 to December 13, 1908, the average temperature at Point Aldrich was 6.21 degrees lower than the temperature at Cape Sheridan for the same period; that from January 16 to February 12, 1909, the average temperature at Cape Bryant was 1.20 degrees lower than that at Cape Sheridan; that from May 17 to May 22, 1909, the average temperature at Cape Morris Jesup was 4.95 degrees higher than that at Cape Sheridan; and that from June 11 to June 25, 1909, the average temperature at Fort Conger was practically the same as that at Cape Sheridan during this period.
Barometer Readings (Uncorrected)
StationDateMaximumMinimumMeanMean°°°°Fort Conger[9]Cape SheridanNov. 13-30, 190830.4228.9629.899Dec., 190830.2729.2829.74929.922Jan., 190930.4229.1829.75229.796Feb., 190930.5929.0329.77229.672March, 190930.8929.6930.28229.893April, 190930.5829.2029.99130.099May, 190930.6029.3930.10530.066June, 190930.2129.3729.80429.878Nov. 17-Dec. 13, 190830.4229.2629.866Jan. 16-Feb. 4, 190930.4029.1829.691May 14-May 22, 190930.5230.0430.304June 11-June 25, 190930.1029.4729.834Point AldrichNov. 17-Dec. 13, 190830.5129.3529.998Cape BryantJan. 16-Feb. 4, 190930.1029.8329.976Cape Morris JesupMay 14-May 22, 190930.7030.2430.469Fort CongerJune 11-June 25, 190930.1929.7430.013Fort Conger[10]June 11-June 25, 188230.12929.41629.817Fort Conger[10]June 11-June 25, 188330.21829.59029.949
The above tabulation shows that during the month the average fluctuation of the barometer at Cape Sheridan amounts to 1.2 inches, being greatest in February and least in June.
An inspection of the monthly means shows that the barometer at Cape Sheridan is lowest for the months of December and January, or about January 1st, and highest about April 1st, the range of the fluctuation being about 0.5 inch. These results agree well with those obtained by Greely at Fort Conger and illustrated by a diagram upon p. 166, Vol. II, of his Report.
From a tabulation made according to hours of the day, but not given here, there is seen to be a diurnal fluctuation at Cape Sheridan amounting to a little more than 1/100 of an inch. The minima of this fluctuation are fairly well defined from November to April and occur at about 2 o'clock botha.m.andp.m.
After leaving Etah, August 17, 1908, on the voyage northward until July 12, 1909, thermograms covering 5½ months and barograms covering nine months of this interval were obtained from self-recording instruments. These are records in addition to the direct hourly readings of the thermometer and barometer made by the tide observers and from which the above results have been deduced.
Facsimiles of Original Observations by Marvin, Bartlett, and Peary and of Original Certificates by Marvin and Bartlett, respectively, during the Sledge Journey to the Pole.
I.Marvin's Observations, March 22, 1909.II.Marvin's Observations, March 25, 1909.III.Certificate of Marvin as to the Position of the Expedition on March 25, 1909.IV.Bartlett's Observations, April 1, 1909.V.Certificate of Bartlett as to the Position of the Expedition April 1, 1909.VI.Peary's Observations April 6, 1909.
[Note.—The originals were all made in pencil in notebooks. The engravings in line printed in this appendix are reproductions in slightly reduced size of tracings carefully made of the original manuscripts. The enclosing line in each case indicates the edges of the leaf on which the original work was written.
The size of this leaf is, with practical uniformity throughout the series, 4 x 6¾ inches. The facsimiles of Peary's observations of April 7, 1909, (q.v.) on pages 292 and 293 have been similarly made but are in the exact size of the originals.The Publishers.]
I. (a) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 22, 1909I. (a) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 22, 1909
(b) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 22, 1909(b) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 22, 1909
II. (a) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 25, 1909II. (a) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 25, 1909
II. (b) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 25, 1909II. (b) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 25, 1909
II. (c) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 25, 1909II. (c) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 25, 1909
III. (a) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S CERTIFICATE OF MARCH 25, 1909III. (a) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S CERTIFICATE OF MARCH 25, 1909
III. (b) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S CERTIFICATE OF MARCH 25, 1909III. (b) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S CERTIFICATE OF MARCH 25, 1909
III. (c) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S CERTIFICATE OF MARCH 25, 1909III. (c) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S CERTIFICATE OF MARCH 25, 1909
IV. FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF BARTLETT'S OBSERVATIONS OF APRIL 1, 1909IV. FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF BARTLETT'S OBSERVATIONS OF APRIL 1, 1909
V. (a) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF BARTLETT'S CERTIFICATE OF APRIL 1, 1909V. (a) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF BARTLETT'S CERTIFICATE OF APRIL 1, 1909
V. (b) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF BARTLETT'S CERTIFICATE OF APRIL 1, 1909V. (b) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF BARTLETT'S CERTIFICATE OF APRIL 1, 1909
VI. FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF PEARY'S OBSERVATIONS OF APRIL 6, 1909VI. FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF PEARY'S OBSERVATIONS OF APRIL 6, 1909
Report of the sub-committee of the National Geographic Society on Peary's Records, and Some of the Honors Awarded for the Attainment of the Pole.
The Board of Managers of the National Geographic Society at a meeting held at Hubbard Memorial Hall, November 4, 1909, received the following report:
"The sub-committee to which was referred the task of examining the records of Commander Peary in evidence of his having reached the North Pole, beg to report that they have completed their task.
"Commander Peary has submitted to his sub-committee his original journal and record of observations, together with all his instruments and apparatus, and certain of the most important of the scientific results of his expedition. These have been carefully examined by your sub-committee, and they are unanimously of the opinion that Commander Peary reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909.
"They also feel warranted in stating that the organization, planning, and management of the expedition, its complete success, and its scientific results, reflect the greatest credit on the ability of Commander Robert E. Peary, and render him worthyof the highest honors that the National Geographic Society can bestow upon him."
(Signed)Henry Gannett.[11]C. M. Chester.[12]O. H. Tittmann.[13]
The foregoing report was unanimously approved.
Immediately after this action the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:
"Whereas, Commander Robert E. Peary has reached the North Pole, the goal sought for centuries; and
"Whereas, this is the greatest geographical achievement that this society can have opportunity to honor: Therefore
"Resolved, that a special medal be awarded to Commander Peary."
Among the home and foreign honors awarded for the attainment of the pole are the following:
The Special Great Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society of Washington.The Special Gold Medal of the Philadelphia Geographical Society.The Helen Culver Medal of the Chicago Geographical Society.The Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from Bowdoin College.The Special Great Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of London.The Nachtigall Gold Medal of the Imperial German Geographical Society.The King Humbert Gold Medal of the Royal Italian Geographical Society.The Hauer Medal of the Imperial Austrian Geographical Society.The Gold Medal of the Hungarian Geographical Society.The Gold Medal of the Royal Belgian Geographical Society.The Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of Antwerp.[14]A Special Trophy from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society—a replica insilver of the ships used by Hudson, Baffin, and Davis.The Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the Edinburgh University.Honorary Membership in the Manchester Geographical Society.Honorary Membership in the Royal Netherlands Geographical Society of Amsterdam.
THE SPECIAL GREAT GOLD MEDAL OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
THE SPECIAL GREAT GOLD MEDAL OFTHE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
(This medal is four inches in diameter)
THE SPECIAL GREAT GOLD MEDAL OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON
THE SPECIAL GREAT GOLD MEDAL OFTHE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. (ACTUAL SIZE)
(Designed by the wife of Captain Robert F. Scott, R. N., Leader of the British South Polar Expeditions of 1901-1904 and 1910-1912)