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iv. education and mental culture.
The scientific expeditions arranged by Swedish scientists, with the support of
patrons of science and partly with the help of State grants, have been of great
importance for meteorology, especially since A. E. Nordenskiöld (1832—1901)
had the happy idea in 1872—73 of equipping his wintering station at Mossel
Bay in Spitzbergen as a first class observatory, as also the "Vegas" wintering
station at Pitlekaj in 1878—79. We may also mention the physico-meteorological
station at Cape Thordsen in Spitzbergen 1882—83, under the direction of N.
Ekholm,, which formed the Swedish contribution to the international polar research
work simultaneously carried out by Swedes, Norwegians, Dutchmen, Germans,
Austrians, Russians, Englishmen, Frenchmen, and North Americans in 1882—84.
Important meteorological observations were also carried out during A. O. Nathorst’s
(b. 1850) polar voyage to Spitzbergen and Kung Karl’s Land in 1898 and to
north eastern Greenland in 1899, during the Swedish expedition for measuring
degree of the meridian on Spitzbergen in 1899—1900 at Treurenberg Bay by
J. Westman (b. 1867), during 0. Nordenskjöld’s (b. 1869) South Pole expedition
in 1901—03 at Snow Hill, south of Cape Horn, and by 8. Hedin (b. 1865)
during his journeys of discovery in Asia, in 1894—97, 1899—1902, and 1906—
08. The meteorological and magnetic observations made on an exact plan
during S. A. Andrée’s polar expeditions in 1896 and 1897 have unfortunately
been almost all lost. In most of the above-mentioned expeditions not only
hourly observations were made of the ordinary meteorological and terrestrial
magnetic phenomena, but special observations were also made, with regard, for
instance, to the height and movements of clouds, the height of the tide,
humidity of the air, atmospheric electricity, aurora borealis, etc. In addition to
those mentioned above, the following scientists have also taken part in this work:
A. Wijkander (1849—1913; terrestrial magnetism, meteorology etc.), S. A.
Andree (1854—97, atmospheric electricity etc.), E. Solander (b. 1858, terrestrial
magnetism), V. Carlheim-Gyllensköld (b. 1859, aurora borealis, terrestrial
magnetism etc.), A. Hamberg (maritime hydrography, meteorology), F. Åkerblom
(meteorology and hydrography), and G. Bodman (b. 1875, meteorology).
Measurements of the height and movements of clouds were taken at Cape Thordsen
in Spitzbergen in 1883 by Ekholm, and at Uppsala in 1884—87 by the same
scientist and K. L. Hagström (b. 1855) and others. At the International
Meteorological Congress, held at Munich in 1891, it was resolved at Hildebrandsson^
suggestion that such measurements should be made simultaneously at many
different places; for Sweden they were made at Uppsala by J. Westman and A.
Lundal (b. 1864). Investigations with regard to the classification of clouds and
respecting the upper currents of air have been carried out by Hildebrandsson and
others. Andree, in nine balloon voyages undertaken in the years 1893—95 in
Sweden, made valuable observations with regard to the nature of the upper
atmospheric regions. Nature’s economy of heat as regards sunshine and the
radiation and absorption of the earth and of the atmosphere has been
investigated by K. Ångström (1857—1910), S. Arrhenius (b. 1859), N. Ekholm, J.
Westman and others.
Rubenson has prepared an extensive catalogue of all the observations with
regard to the aurora borealis made up to the year 1877 inclusive. With
the assistance of these and other observations, Arrhenius and Ekholm have
revealed or closely investigated two important periods of considerable amplitude
in the polar lights (Aurora Borealis and Australis), atmospheric electricity, and
thunderstorms, the one dependent on the tropical time of revolution of the
moon, and the other on an unknown cause, perhaps on the rotation of the sun.
Arrhenius has also shown that the great changes in climate which have taken
place on the earth during early geologic times may be explained principally by
comparatively small changes in the quantity of carbon-dioxide contained in
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