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The South Pole, Volume 2

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The Fram carries six boats: one large decked boat (29 x 9 x 4 feet)
-- one of the two large boats carried on Nansen's expedition --
placed between the mainmast and the foremast, over the skylight;
three whale-boats (20 x 6 feet), and one large and one small pram; the
two last are carried on davits as shown in the drawing. One of these
whale-boats was left behind on the Ice Barrier, where it was buried
in snow when the ship left. It was brought ashore that the wintering
party might have a boat at their disposal after the Fram had sailed.

For warming the vessel it is intended to use only petroleum. For
warming the laboratory (chart-house) there is an arrangement by which
hot air from the galley is brought up through its forward wall.

The vessel was provided with iron chain plates bolted to the timbers
above the ice-skin. The mizzenmast is new. There was a crack in
the beam that forms the support for the mizzenmast; it was therefore
strengthened with two heavy iron plates, secured by through-bolts. Two
strong steel stanchions were also placed on each side of the engine,
carried down to the frame-timbers. The old mizzenmast has been
converted into a bowsprit and jib-boom in one piece. There are now
standing gaffs on all three masts. The sail area is about 6,640
square feet.

All the cabins are insulated in the same way as before, though it
has been found possible to simplify this somewhat. In general the
insulation consists of:

1. In the cabins, against the ship's side and under the upper deck,
there is first a layer of cork, and over that a double panelling of
wood with tarred felt between.

2. Above the orlop deck aft there is a layer of cork, and above this
a floor of boards covered with linoleum.

3. Under the orlop deck forward there is wooden panelling, with
linoleum over the deck.

Bulkheads abutting on parts of the ship that are not warmed consist
of three thicknesses of boards or planks with various non-conducting
materials, such as cork or felt, between them.

When the vessel was docked before leaving Horten, the zinc sheathing
was removed, as already stated, since fears were entertained that it
would be torn by the ice, and would then prevent the ice from slipping
readily under the bottom during pressure. The vessel has two anchors,
but the former port anchor has been replaced by a considerably
heavier one (1 ton 1 1/2 hundredweight), with a correspondingly
heavier chain-cable. This was done with a special view to the voyage
round Cape Horn.

In order to trim the ship as much as possible by the stern, which
was desirable on account of her carrying a weather helm, a number
of heavy spare stores, such as the old port anchor and its cable,
were stowed aft, and the extreme after-peak was filled with cement
containing round pieces of iron punched out of plates.

Along the railing round the fore-deck strong netting has been placed
to prevent the dogs falling overboard. For the upper deck a loose
wooden grating has been made, so that the dogs shall not lie on
the wet deck. Awnings are provided over the whole deck, with only
the necessary openings for working the ship. In this way the dogs
have been given dry and, as far as possible, cool quarters for the
voyage through the tropics. It is proposed to use the ship's spars as
supports for a roof of boards, to be put up during the drift through
the ice as a protection against falling masses of ice.

The Fram's new engine is a direct reversible Marine-Polar-Motor,
built by the Diesel Motor Co., of Stockholm. It is a Diesel engine,
with four working and two air-pump cylinders, and develops normally
at 280 revolutions per minute 180 effective horse-power, with a
consumption of oil of about 7 3/4 ounces per effective horse-power
per hour. With this comparatively small consumption, the Fram's fuel
capacity will carry her much farther than if she had a steam-engine,
a consideration of great importance in her forthcoming long voyage
in the Arctic Sea. With her oil capacity of about 90 tons, she will
thus be able to go uninterruptedly for about 2,273 hours, or about
95 days. If we reckon her speed under engine power alone at 4 1/2
knots, she will be able to go about 10,000 nautical miles without
replenishing her oil-supply. It is a fault in the new engine that
its number of revolutions is very high, which necessitates the use
of a propeller of small diameter (5 feet 9 inches), and thus of low
efficiency in the existing conditions. This is the more marked on
account of the unusual thickness of the Fram's propeller-post, which
masks the propeller to a great extent. The position of the engine will
be seen in Fig. 1. The exhaust gases from the engine are sent up by
a pipe through the after-saloon, through its skylight, and up to a
large valve on the bridge; from this valve two horizontal pipes run
along the after side of the bridge, one to each side: By means of the
valve the gases can be diverted to one side or the other, according
to the direction of the wind, Besides the usual auxiliary engines,
the main engine drives a large centrifugal bilge-pump, an ordinary
machine bilge-pump, and a fan for use in the tropics.

When the Fram left Christiania in the spring of 1910, after taking
her cargo on board, she drew 17 feet forward and 19 feet 5 inches
aft. This corresponds to a displacement (measured outside the ice-skin)
of about 1,100 tons. The ice-skin was then 12 1/2 inches above the
waterline amidships.



CHAPTER II


Remarks on the Meteorological Observations at Framheim

By B. J. Birkeland

On account of the improvised character of the South Polar Expedition,
the meteorological department on the Fram was not so complete as it
ought to have been. It had not been possible to provide the aerological
outfit at the time of sailing, and the meteorologist of the expedition
was therefore left behind in Norway. But certain things were wanting
even to complete the equipment of an ordinary meteorological station,
such as minimum thermometers and the necessary instructions that should
have accompanied one or two of the instruments. Fortunately, among
the veterans of the expedition there were several practised observers,
and, notwithstanding all drawbacks, a fine series of observations was
obtained during ten months' stay in winter-quarters on the Antarctic
continent. These observations will provide a valuable supplement to
the simultaneous records of other expeditions, especially the British
in McMurdo Sound and the German in Weddell Sea, above all as regards
the hypsometer observations (for the determination of altitude)
on sledge journeys. It may be hoped, in any case, that it will be
possible to interpolate the atmospheric pressure at sea-level in all
parts of the Antarctic continent that were traversed by the sledging
expeditions. For this reason the publication of a provisional working
out of the observations is of great importance at the present moment,
although the general public will, perhaps, look upon the long rows
of figures as tedious and superfluous. The complete working out of
these observations can only be published after a lapse of some years.

As regards the accuracy of the figures here given, it must be noted
that at present we know nothing about possible alterations in the
errors of the different instruments, as it will not be possible to
have the instruments examined and compared until we arrive at San
Francisco next year. We have provisionally used the errors that
were determined at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute before
the expedition sailed; it does not appear, however, that they have
altered to any great extent.

The meteorological outfit on the Fram consisted of the following
instruments and apparatus:


Three mercury barometers, namely:


One normal barometer by Fuess, No. 361 .
One Kew standard barometer by Adie, No. 889.
One Kew marine barometer by Adie, No. 764.


Five aneroid barometers:


One large instrument with thermometer attached, without name
or number.
Two pocket aneroids by Knudsen, Copenhagen, one numbered 1,503.
Two pocket aneroids by Cary, London, Nos. 1,367 and 1,368,
for altitudes up to 5,000 metres (16,350 feet).
Two hypsometers by Casella, with several thermometers.


Mercury thermometers:


Twelve ordinary standard (psychrometer-) thermometers,
divided to fifths of a degree (Centigrade).
Ten ordinary standard thermometers, divided to degrees.
Four sling thermometers, divided to half degrees.
Three maximum thermometers, divided to degrees.
One normal thermometer by Mollenkopf, No. 25.


Toluene thermometers:


Eighteen sling thermometers, divided to degrees.
Three normal thermometers-by Tounelot, No. 4,993, and Baudin,
Nos. 14,803 and 14,804.
Two torsion hair hygrometers of Russeltvedt's construction,
Nos. 12 and 14.
One cup and cross anemometer of Professor Mohn's construction,
with spare cross.
One complete set of precipitation gauges, with Nipher's shield,
gauges for snow density, etc.


Registering instruments:


Two barographs.
Two thermographs.
One hair hygrograph.
A number of spare parts, and a supply of paper and ink for
seven years.



In addition, various books were taken, such as Mohn's "Meteorology,"
the Meteorological Institute's "Guide," psychrometric tables, Wiebe's
steam-pressure tables for hypsometer observations, etc.

The marine barometer, the large aneroid, and one of the barographs,
the four mercury sling thermometers, and two whole-degree standard
thermometers, were kept on board the Fram, where they were used for
the regular observations every four hours on the vessel's long voyages
backwards and forwards.

As will be seen, the shore party was thus left without mercury sling
thermometers, besides having no minimum thermometers; the three maximum
thermometers proved to be of little use. There were also various
defects in the clockwork of the registering instruments. The barographs
and thermographs have been used on all the Norwegian Polar expeditions;
the hygrograph is also an old instrument, which, in the course of
its career, has worked for over ten years in Christiania, where
the atmosphere is by no means merciful to delicate instruments. Its
clockwork had not been cleaned before it was sent to the Fram, as was
done in the case of the other four instruments. The barographs worked
irreproachably the whole time, but one of the thermographs refused
absolutely to work in the open air, and unfortunately the spindle pivot
of the other broke as early as April 17. At first the clockwork of the
hygrograph would not go at all, as the oil had become thick, and it
was not until this had been removed by prolonged severe heating (baking
in the oven for several days) that it could be set going; but then it
had to be used for the thermograph, the mechanism of which was broken,
so that no registration was obtained of the humidity of the air.

The resulting registrations are then as follows: from Framheim, one
set of barograms and two sets of thermograms, of which one gives the
temperature of the air and the other the temperature inside the house,
where the barometers and barograph were placed; from the Fram we have
barograms for the whole period from her leaving Christiania, in 1910,
to her arrival at Buenos Aires for the third time, in 1912.

Of course, none of these registrations can be taken into account in
the provisional working out, as they will require many months' work,
which, moreover, cannot be carried out with advantage until we have
ascertained about possible changes of error in the instruments. But
occasional use has been made of them for purposes of checking, and
for supplying the only observation missing in the ten months.

The meteorological station at Framheim was arranged in this way:
the barometers, barograph, and one thermograph hung inside the house;
they were placed in the kitchen, behind the door of the living-room,
which usually stood open, and thus protected them from the radiant heat
of the range. A thermometer, a hygrometer, and the other thermograph
were placed in a screen on high posts, and with louvred sides,
which stood at a distance of fifteen yards to the south-west of the
house. A little way beyond the screen, again, stood the wind-vane and
anemometer. At the end of September the screen had to be moved a few
yards to the east; the snow had drifted about it until it was only 2
1/2 feet above the surface, whereas it ought to stand at the height
of a man. At the same time the wind-vane was moved. The screen was
constructed by Lindström from his recollection of the old Fram screen.

The two mercury barometers, the Fuess normal, and the Adie standard
barometer, reached Framheim in good condition; as has been said, they
were hung in the kitchen, and the four pocket aneroids were hung by
the side of them. All six were read at the daily observations at 8
a.m., 2 p.m., and 8 p.m. The normal barometer, the instructions for
which were missing, was used as a siphon barometer, both the mercury
levels being read, and the bottom screw being locked fast; the usual
mode of reading it, on the other hand, is to set the lower level at
zero on the scale by turning the bottom screw at every observation,
whereupon the upper level only is set and read. The Adie standard
barometer is so arranged that it is only necessary to read the summit
of the mercury. It appears that there is some difference between
the atmospheric pressure values of the two instruments, but this is
chiefly due to the difficult and extremely variable conditions of
temperature. There may be a difference of as much as five degrees
(Centigrade) between the thermometers of the two barometers, in
spite of their hanging side by side at about the same height from
the floor. On the other hand, the normal barometer is not suited to
daily observations, especially in the Polar regions, and the double
reading entails greater liability of error. That the Adie barometer
is rather less sensitive than the other is of small importance, as
the variations of atmospheric pressure at Framheim were not very great.

In the provisional working out, therefore, the readings of the Adie
barometer alone have been used; those of the normal barometer,
however, have been experimentally reduced for the first and last
months, April and January. The readings have been corrected for the
temperature of the mercury, the constant error of the instrument,
and the variation of the force of gravity from the normal in latitude
45°. The reduction to sea-level, on the other hand, has not been made;
it amounts to 1.1 millimetre at an air temperature of -10° Centigrade.

The observations show that the pressure of the atmosphere is
throughout low, the mean for the ten months being 29.07 inches
(738.6 millimetres). It is lower in winter than in summer, July
having 28.86 inches (733.1 millimetres), and December 29.65 inches
(753.3 millimetres), as the mean for the month, a difference of
20.2 millimetres. The highest observation was 30.14 inches (765.7
millimetres) on December 9, and the lowest 28.02 inches (711.7
millimetres) on May 24, 1911; difference, 54 millimetres.

Air Temperature and Thermometers.

As has already been stated, minimum thermometers and mercury sling
thermometers were wanting. For the first six months only toluene sling
thermometers were used. Sling thermometers are short, narrow glass
thermometers, with a strong loop at the top; before being read they
are briskly swung round at the end of a string about half a yard long,
or in a special apparatus for the purpose. The swinging brings the
thermometer in contact with a great volume of air, and it therefore
gives the real temperature of the air more readily than if it were
hanging quietly in the screen.

From October 1 a mercury thermometer was also placed in the screen,
though only one divided to whole degrees; those divided to fifths
of a degree would, of course, have given a surer reading. But it is
evident, nevertheless, that the toluene thermometers used are correct
to less than half a degree (Centigrade), and even this difference
may no doubt be explained by one thermometer being slung while the
other was fixed. The observations are, therefore, given without any
corrections. Only at the end of December was exclusive use made of
mercury thermometers. The maximum thermometers taken proved of so
little use that they were soon discarded; the observations have not
been included here.

It was due to a misunderstanding that mercury thermometers were
not also used in the first half-year, during those periods when
the temperature did not go below the freezing-point of mercury
(-89° C.). But the toluene thermometers in use were old and good
instruments, so that the observations for this period may also be
regarded as perfectly reliable. Of course, all the thermometers had
been carefully examined at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, and
at Framheim the freezing-point was regularly tested in melting snow.

The results show that the winter on the Barrier was about 19.°
C. (21.6° F.) colder than it usually is in McMurdo Sound, where
the British expeditions winter. The coldest month is August, with a
mean temperature of -44.5° C. (-48.1° F.); on fourteen days during
this month the temperature was below -50° C. (-58° F.). The lowest
temperature occurred on August 13: -58.5° C. (-73.3° F.); the warmest
day in that month had a temperature of -24° C. (-11.2° F.).

In October spring begins to approach, and in December the temperature
culminates with a mean for the month of -6.6° C. (+2O.l° F.), and a
highest maximum temperature of -0.2° C. (+31.6° F.). The temperature
was thus never above freezing-point, even in the warmest part of
the summer.

The daily course of the temperature -- warmest at noon and coldest
towards morning -- is, of course, not noticeable in winter, as the
sun is always below the horizon. But in April there is a sign of it,
and from September onward it is fairly marked, although the difference
between 2 p.m. and the mean of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. only amounts to 2°
C. in the monthly mean.

Humidity of the Air.

For determining the relative humidity of the air the expedition
had two of Russeltvedt's torsion hygrometers. This instrument has
been accurately described in the Meteorologische Zeitschrift, 1908,
p. 396. It has the advantage that there are no axles or sockets to
be rusted or soiled, or filled with rime or drift-snow.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

The two horsehairs (h, h') that are used, are stretched tight by a
torsion clamp (Z, Z', and L), which also carries the pointer; the
position of the pointer varies with the length of the hairs, which,
again, is dependent on the degree of humidity of the air. (See the
diagrams.) These instruments have been in use in Norway for several
years, especially at inland stations, where the winter is very cold,
and they have shown themselves superior to all others in accuracy and
durability; but there was no one on the Fram who knew anything about
them, and there is therefore a possibility that they were not always
in such good order as could be wished. On September 10, especially,
the variations are very remarkable; but on October 13 the second
instrument, No. 12, was hung out, and there can be no doubt of the
correctness of the subsequent observations.

It is seen that the relative humidity attains its maximum in winter,
in the months of July and August, with a mean of 90 per cent. The
driest air occurs in the spring month of November, with a mean of
73 per cent. The remaining months vary between 79 and 86 per cent.,
and the mean of the whole ten months is 82 per cent. The variations
quoted must be regarded as very small. On the other hand, the figures
themselves are very high, when the low temperatures are considered,
and this is doubtless the result of there being open water not very
far away. The daily course of humidity is contrary to the course of the
temperature, and does not show itself very markedly, except in January.

The absolute humidity, or partial pressure of aqueous vapour in the
air, expressed in millimetres in the height of the mercury in the
same way as the pressure of the atmosphere, follows in the main the
temperature of the air. The mean value for the whole period is only 0.8
millimetre (0.031 inch); December has the highest monthly mean with
2.5 millimetres (0.097 inch), August the lowest with 0.1 millimetre
(0.004 inch). The absolutely highest observation occurred on December
5 with 4.4 millimetres (0.173 inch), while the lowest of all is less
than 0.05 millimetre, and can therefore only be expressed by 0.0;
it occurred frequently in the course of the winter.



Precipitation.

Any attempt to measure the quantity of precipitation -- even
approximately -- had to be abandoned. Snowfall never occurred in
still weather, and in a wind there was always a drift that entirely
filled the gauge. On June 1 and 7 actual snowfall was observed,
but it was so insignificant that it could not be measured; it was,
however, composed of genuine flakes of snow. It sometimes happened
that precipitation of very small particles of ice was noticed;
these grains of ice can be seen against the observation lantern,
and heard on the observer's headgear; but on returning to the house,
nothing can be discovered on the clothing. Where the sign for snow
occurs in the column for Remarks, it means drift; these days are
included among days of precipitation. Sleet was observed only once,
in December. Rain never.

Cloudiness.

The figures indicate how many tenths of the visible heavens are covered
by clouds (or mist). No instrument is used in these observations;
they depend on personal estimate. They had to be abandoned during
the period of darkness, when it is difficult to see the sky.

Wind.

For measuring the velocity of the wind the expedition had a cup
and cross anemometer, which worked excellently the whole time. It
consists of a horizontal cross with a hollow hemisphere on each of
the four arms of the cross; the openings of the hemispheres are all
turned towards the same side of the cross-arms, and the cross can
revolve with a minimum of friction on a vertical axis at the point of
junction. The axis is connected with a recording mechanism, which is
set in motion at each observation and stopped after a lapse of half a
minute, when the figure is read off. This figure denotes the velocity
of the wind in metres per second, and is directly transferred to the
tables (here converted into feet per second).

The monthly means vary between 1.9 metres (6.2 feet) in May, and 5.5
metres (18 feet) in October; the mean for the whole ten months is 3.4
metres (11.1 feet) per second. These velocities may be characterized
as surprisingly small; and the number of stormy days agrees with
this low velocity. Their number for the whole period is only 11,
fairly evenly divided between the months; there are, however, five
stormy days in succession in the spring months October and November.

The frequency of the various directions of the wind has been added
up for each month, and gives the same characteristic distribution
throughout the whole period. As a mean we have the following table,
where the figures give the percentage of the total number of wind
observations:



N.
N.E.
E.
S.E.
S.
S.W.
W.
N.W.
Calm.

1.9
7.8
31.9
6.9
12.3
14.3
2.6
1.1
21.3


Almost every third direction is E., next to which come S.W. and S. Real
S.E., on the other hand, occurs comparatively rarely. Of N., N. W.,
and W. there is hardly anything. It may be interesting to see what
the distribution is when only high winds are taken into account --
that is, winds with a velocity of 10 metres (32.8 feet) per second
or more. We then have the following table of percentages:



N.
N.E.
E.
S.E.
S.
S.W.
W.
N.W.

7
12
51
10
4
10
2
4


Here again, E. is predominant, as half the high winds come from this
quarter. W. and N.W. together have only 6 per cent.

The total number of high winds is 51, or 5.6 per cent. of the total
of wind observations.

The most frequent directions of storms are also E. and N.E.

The Aurora Australis.

During the winter months auroral displays were frequently seen --
altogether on sixty-five days in six months, or an average of every
third day -- but for want of apparatus no exhaustive observations
could be attempted. The records are confined to brief notes of the
position of the aurora at the times of the three daily observations.

The frequency of the different directions, reckoned in percentages
of the total number of directions given, as for the wind, will be
found in the following table:



N.
N.E.
E.
S.E.
S.
S.W.
W.
N.W.
Zenith.

18
17
16
9
8
3
8
13
8


N. and N.E. are the most frequent, and together make up one-third of
all the directions recorded; but the nearest points on either side of
this maximum -- E. and N.W. -- are also very frequent, so that these
four points together -- N.W., N., N.E., E. -- have 64 per cent. of
the whole. The rarest direction is S.W., with only 3 per cent. (From
the position of the Magnetic Pole in relation to Framheim, one would
rather have expected E. to be the most frequent, and W. the rarest,
direction.) Probably the material before us is somewhat scanty for
establishing these directions.

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