In an uncompleted paper, the glaciological observations made by the late Michael Holland and his party in the mountainous Sukkertoppen region of West Greenland (lat. 66° N.) during the summer of 1956 are described. Notes on the features of this region and of the present state of the glaciers were fairly complete; it is felt that these should be put on record as likely to be of use to future workers. It is concluded that in recent years retreat of the main glaciers appears to have been very slight. Pit measurements were made and tabulated and comparisons were made with the earlier findings by Etienne in the same area. No notable difference in the annual accumulation is yet apparent; it is tentatively concluded that there may have been a small increase, but caution is heeded in interpretation as the nearest meteorological stations lie at some distance.

An investigation has been made on the amounts and composition of gases enclosed in West Greenland glaciers ranging from the Thule area near lat. 77° N. to Brede Fjord at lat. 62° N. In general, the gas composition deviated appreciably from that of air, and also varied within each piece of ice. Presumably these variations are caused by melting either in the firn area, or, more often, at the outlet sites. 13C analyses indicate that organic contamination of the snow may be another factor. Undisturbed ancient atmospheric air was therefore not encountered in our Greenland samples, but indications are that it might be found in the much colder Antarctic ice sheet. Gas bubbles analyzed from crack fills in icebergs had high oxygen concentrations, sometimes almost matching that of air-equilibrated ice-cold water, from which they undoubtedly originated. Blue icebergs, which often were seen floating up from the bottom of glacier fronts, also tended toward high oxygen concentration and very likely, therefore, are caused by freezing of melt water seeping down and collecting underneath the glacier.

A profile of ice thickness along the 647 mile trail from Little America V to Byrd Station has been obtained from altimetric, seismic, and gravity measurements, and detailed studies made at the junction of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Marie Byrd Land plateau. The surface elevation profile clearly shows the depression characteristic of this contact. The thickness of the floating ice shelf has been determined from the elevations assuming hydrostatic equilibrium; for this purpose the accurately known density-depth relationship obtained from a deep borehole at Little America V was employed. The buried rock topography at the contact has been deduced from a seismic sounding and variations in the gravity anomaly. Movement studies over a 22 month period are presented, and the crevasse pattern of the contact is analyzed in terms of ice movement. Suggestions are given for traversing the region by vehicle.

The Wilkes Station area comprises 75 km.2 of rock which form one of the most extensive exposures on this part of the East Antarctic coast. During 1957 and 1958 the continental ice sheet south-east of Wilkes Station was explored to a distance of 100 km. inland, and its form and behaviour studied by means of topographic, movement and gravity surveys. Surface stake measurements inland showed a net accumulation equivalent to 13.7 cm. of water in 1958. Sub-surface measurements of wetness, hardness, density, grain size, crystal size, shape and fabric and electrical conductivity were made at 60 locations and to depths which reached 62 m. at an auxiliary inland station. Meteorological observations were made and englacial temperatures measured. In summary, the ice sheet in this area provides a typical section of a polar glacier. The evidence for glacial fluctuations and the possibility of establishing a chronology for these are discussed.

Weekly observations were made on the horizontal and vertical components of surface movement of the Sefstrøms Gletscher, north-east Greenland. It is concluded that in the area in question the state of the glacier is consistent with Nye’s concept of extending flow. Melting observations were also made. An estimate of ice thickness, derived from measurements of surface slope, is given.

Glaciers in fjords almost always reach standstill positions at the fjord mouths or at changes in their width. Between such positions the terminus is usually advancing or retreating: the advance may be anomalous compared to glaciers on dry land in the vicinity, and the retreat may be catastrophically rapid. These peculiarities of fjord glaciers can be at least partly explained by considering conditions to be expected in an ideal fjord of constant width: the glacier cannot reach equilibrium by changing the extent of its ablation area or its calving terminus, and these cannot change their altitude with respect to sea-level in response to a rise or fall in the firn limit.

The rate of movement of the Ross Ice Shelf has been determined at its terminal face to the south-east of Scott Base. An average rate of movement of 23 cm./day in a direction 270° True was determined for the period March 1957 to October 1958. The terminating face of the ice shelf in McMurdo Sound is only about 3 metres thick compared with a thickness of several hundred metres in the Ross Sea. Altimeter heights are used to demonstrate a thinning of the shelf which is attributed to melting from below.

Eight different ice budgets for the Antarctic Ice Sheet are examined. Five of these budgets call for rates of increase of the ice which are in surprisingly good agreement considering the wide dispersion of individual components of the budgets. The observed rise in sea-level of the world’s oceans would appear to contradict the removal of water required to nourish the Antarctic Ice Sheet at the claimed rates. The thermal expansion of oceanic columns, caused by “climatic” warming of the oceans, has been invoked to resolve this contradiction but it appears that this is not large enough judging from the 30 yr. difference in water temperatures measured by the Meteor and the Crawford in two profiles across the tropical Atlantic Ocean.

The volume of ice that flows annually from the Skelton Glacier on the west side of the Ross Ice Shelf between the Worcester and Royal Society Ranges was determined during 1958–59 traverse operations to be approximately 791 × 106 m.3 or 712 × 106 m.3 water equivalent. Annual accumulation on the Skelton névé field and small cirque glaciers is estimated to be 1,018 × 106 m.3 water equivalent, but this figure can be reduced to 712 × 106 m.3 by assuming that 30 per cent of the expected accumulation in the lower slopes of the glacier is lost to adjacent areas of the Ross Ice Shelf by katabatic winds. It is evident that little or no contribution to the nourishment of the Skelton Glacier comes from the high plateau area of East Antarctica. It is suggested that this condition exists generally in the western Ross Sea and Ross Shelf area, and is responsible for the existence of the present “dry” valleys in the McMurdo Sound area.

Some estimates of local ice regime are made at two sites on the glacier where ice thickness and strain rates are known.

The compaction and flow within névé can be studied by means of magnetized steel tubes buried in vertical pits. The locations of the tubes, their distances from the surface, down to a depth of 10 m., and their angles with the vertical can be determined from measurements made with a B.M.Z. magnetometer.

A summary of the techniques used and results obtained from three oversnow traverses in Marie Byrd Land and the Ellsworth Highland between January 1957 and January 1959 is presented. Seismic reflection shooting at 30 nautical mile (55.5 km.) intervals was combined with gravity, magnetic and altimetric measurements to determine the glacial and subglacial topography. It was found that a vast portion of West Antarctica has an ice–rock interface well below sea-level. A major connecting channel with a maximum depth of more than 2,500 m. below sea-level exists between the Ross and Bellingshausen–Amundsen Seas, whereas there is no major topographic connection between the Ross and Weddell Seas. This channel divides West Antarctica into two provinces with granite and rocks of sedimentary origin to the east and south, and a volcanic region to the north-west. Present ice flow is outward from two high areas, centred over mountainous regions on either side of the channel. It is concluded that the present ice sheet has grown from the convergence of the two smaller ice sheets which formed in the mountainous areas and joined across the intervening open water.

The dark and light bands on glaciers known as ogives are only found beneath ice falls and avalanche fans. They are not to be confused with sedimentary layering, which may appear similar. Vareschi’s pollen studies are considered in relation to the present theory; his evidence is re-interpreted and shown to support the theory put forward.

The Norwegian glacier Austerdalsbreen has a fine double set of ogives, one set on ice from Odinsbreen and the other on ice from Thorsbreen. These ogives are continuous from near the feet of these ice falls down to the end of the main glacier. The ice from the collecting ground of Jostedalsbreen which moves slowly towards the head of these ice falls is normally stratified as seen in the deep crevasses immediately above the ice falls. The high velocity of flow, 2,000 m. per year in the upper part of Odinsbre ice fall, causes the ice to stretch into a thin and heavily crevassed layer which exposes a very high proportion of surface per unit volume to the sun, the rain and the snow. In summer this leads to:(1) crystal changes, primarily of enlargement, (2) an infusion of dirt which blows on to the glacier from the neighbouring snow-free and vegetation-free land surfaces, and (3) water filling the bottom of some of the deeper crevasses, which may later freeze. On the other hand, the ice which passes down the ice falls in winter is largely protected by a mantle of snow; crystal changes then are slow, little dust collects, and less water pours into the crevasses which, instead, are filled with new snow. So the ice reaching the lower part of the ice falls and moving on to form the main glacier, Austerdalsbreen, has been subjected throughout its mass to seasonal differences. These differences seem to be more systematic in the deeper ice, and only when the chaotic surface layers are melted away, do they appear on the surface of Austerdalsbreen as well defined ogives. The greater proportion of blue, bubble-free ice with large crystals in the “summer” ice, is alone sufficient to distinguish it from the lighter-coloured “winter” ice with its more frequent bands of white bubbly ice having very small crystals. But as ablation continues, more and more dust is brought to the surface and this still further darkens the “summer” ice. In addition the darker ice melts more readily and tends to form troughs in the glacier surface which retard stream flow, hold the lingering snows, and trap further dust and dirt. The cracks between large crystals also hold dirt better than the smooth hard white surfaces which occur more frequently in the “winter” ice. Hence the ogives remain distinct throughout their journey down Austerdalsbreen. Near the snout the medial moraine is very abundant along the darker bands deriving from Thorsbreen, and this further supports our view that this darker ice was in the ice fall in summer when most debris falls from the rock walls on to the ice fall.

Recent work has resulted in recognition of an additional glaciation preceding the Waimaunga Glaciation in the late Pleistocene. This followed the mid-Pleistocene climax of earth movements responsible for most of the present mountainous relief of New Zealand, but only after an interval of time long enough for the construction and subsequent deep dissection of Banks Peninsula shield volcano. It is inferred from this and other geological evidence that the earliest late Pleistocene glaciation was separated from the early Pleistocene Ross Glaciation by several hundred thousand years, and that the Pleistocene Period altogether covers at least one million years.