XXXI.—Shackleton Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917: The Natural History of Pack-Ice as observed in the Weddell Sea

Abstract

The opportunities for observation were afforded by the voyage and subsequent drift of the S.Y. Endurance. During December 1914 and January 1915 for a period of six weeks she successfully bored her way through pack-ice of every description—drift-ice, open-pack, and very frequently even close-pack. Continually fighting, she penetrated from 59° to 72° S. lat., and finally reached the land water off Coats Land on the latter parallel. As the crow flies, therefore, she was navigated through ice for nearly 800 geographical miles on this voyage; her actual course among the ice-fields and floes was computed to exceed 2000 miles, an achievement without parallel in the Antarctic. The principle adopted was to keep to the east, where presumably there is less pack than in the west; if the Endurance experience is a normal one, however, the meridian of 20° W. long., which was followed, is certainly not far enough east.