The First Fruits of the German Antarctic Expedition

Abstract

THE protracted voyage of the Gauss from the Elbe to Cape Town excited some anxiety at the time, and called forth a few comments unfavourable to the sailing power of the ship. It appears, however, that the delay was due mainly to the fact that many days were spent in carrying on oceanographical and magnetic work, although the change of programme which led to the abandonment of a visit to Ascension shows that the duration of the passage did to some extent exceed anticipations. The Gauss, we may recall, left the Elbe on August 15, 1901, passed the Lizard on the 20th, called at St. Vincent in the Cape Verde Islands on September 11, and reached Cape Town on November 23. The work done in various branches of science was discussed in a preliminary manner on board, and an account of it was issued in March in a paper of 108 pages, with numerous maps and diagrams, by the new Oceanographical Institute in Berlin and the Geographical Institute of the University of Berlin, under the direction of the head of both institutions, Baron F. von Richthofen.¹ The work, though mainly of value in the instruction it afforded the workers, still constitutes a contribution to our knowledge of the Atlantic, and promises well for the scientific harvest which we hope the Gauss has by this time begun to reap in less known waters.