| Popis: |
Most people believe the Antarctic Continent is a region of very strong winds. This belief is due largely to the fact that most of the observations from Antarctica are from the coast regions where down-slope, or drainage, winds are prevalent. Antarctica with an area considerably greater than that of the United States, much of which is an ice-covered plateau of roughly 7,000 to 9,000 feet in elevation, is perfectly adapted to drainage winds. These winds become very intense on declivitous coasts, especially when they are augmented by a low-pressure area in the proper position over the ocean. This type of wind was experienced by Sir Douglas Mawson, who spent the winter, of 1912–13 at Adelie Land on the edge of the Continent. He reported an average wind-velocity for an entire year, from the interior toward the sea, of more than 50 miles an hour. The maximum velocity was endured in July 1913, when an average of 107 miles an hour was maintained for eight hours, during which period gusts reached nearly 200 miles an hour. Similar winds of varying intensity and irregular duration have been reported at many stations along the Antarctic border. Captain Scott, who based at McMurdo Sound on the southwestern border of the Ross Sea at the foot of the Prince Albert Mountains, reported an average yearly velocity of 21 miles an hour, more than double that recorded at Little America 400 miles to the eastward. |
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