Abstract
WE have already (vol. xii. p. 460) referred to Lieut. Weyprecht's paper on the Principles of Arctic Exploration, read at the German Scientific and Medical Association. A full report of the paper has now come to hand. Lieut. Weyprecht rightly maintains that the polar regions offer, in certain important respects, greater advantages than any other part of the globe for the observations of natural henomena—magnetism, the aurora, meteorology, geology, zoology, and botany. He shows that hitherto immense sums have been spent and much hardship suffered for the mere purpose of extending geographical and topographical knowledge, while strictly scientific observations were regarded as holding only a secondary place. While admitting the importance of geographical discovery, he maintains that the main purpose of future Arctic expeditions should be the extension of our knowledge of the various natural phenomena which may be studied with so great advantage in these regions.
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Lieut. Weyprecht on Arctic Exploration . Nature 12, 539 (1875). https://doi.org/10.1038/012539a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/012539a0