BIGELOW WILL DIRECT LABRADOR EXPEDITION

C. O'D. Iselin will lead a party of seven men on an expedition to the northeastern part of Labrador this summer to perform experiments in oceanography, and to study the flowers and fish in that region which entirely escaped the glacier. The work will be under the direction of Dr. Henry Bigelow, Curator of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and of Professor M. L. Fernald of the Gray Herbarium.

The personnel of the trip will be made up of Iselin, Oliver Ames II '27, R. A. Jordan Jr. '27, from the University, John Churchill of M. I. T., J. M. Woodworth, an Amherst graduate, Terence Keogh, a companion of Iselin's on six trips, and one professional. J. B. Sears of Robinson's Head, Newfoundland, the most famous cook in the region.

The three main purposes of the expedition are to measure and take cross-sections of the Labrador Current, to bring back flowers from the Torngat region, which escaped the glacier many thousands of years ago, and to determine the nature of the fish in the more northern fjords. Iselin and Keogh will take oceanographic sections of the Labrador Current to try to determine what causes it and where it comes from and goes to. Drift bottles will be set and cards put inside. They will ask the finders to mail them to Dr. Bigelow and say where they were found. It is uncertain as to where they will drift, Norway being one of the most probable possibilities. The salinity of the water is a decisive factor in the causation of a current and Iselin will take water samples to discover what part this solution plays in the flow. The samples will also be examined for their contents of living organisms. All samples will be brought back to Dr. Bigelow.

Field New to Scientists

Knowledge of these matters is very scarce. Much work has been done further south, but a well-organized expedition has never carried on such extensive research off the northern Labrador coast. One of the greatest practical advantages to be gained from this part of the expedition is the understanding of the movements of the ice-burgs that infest the ship-lanes.

Jordan and Churchill will make it their purpose to clear up several disagreements as to the nature of the fish of the region. It is a matter for debate whether they are Artic sea trout or salmon. It is possible that as the water grows colder the species change and blend together. This is important from the commercial point of view as the supply of salmon farther south is rapidly dwindling.

To Study Fauna of Country

Woodworth and Ames will be working for Dr. Fernald and will collect and study the growth of flowers in the Torngat country and also the fauna in the fjords.

The boat which will carry the expedition north into the ice-fields will be called the "Chance." She is now being built in Shelbourne, Nova Scotia, by William McKaye, a direct descendant of the Donald McKaye who made Boston famous with his clipper-ships. The "Chance" will be 75 feet long, and will have a displacement of 40 tons. Iselin designed her himself. She will be a schooner with a 40 horse power Lathrop engine to be used in case of calm in the fjords, and for running the winch to which will be attached 400 fathoms of gear. This is approximately the depth of the water over the Continental shelf.