The United States Glaciological Researches during the International Geophysical Year

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Th e U .S. IG Y program in glacio logy is rev iewed in two p a rts : Antarc ti ca a nd n orthern latitudes . Th e obj ectives of the program are outlined and the results o f ea ch investigation are briefly summari zed . A se para te discuss ion o f o b servations relat ed to cha nges in th e Earth's ice cover is included . R ESU ME. Le programme glac io logique des E tats-U nis pendant l'A GI est pr esent e en d e ux parties : l'Antarctiqu e e t les latitudes du n vrd . Les buts du progra mme sont ex p oses e t les r esultats d e ch a que investigation son t bri evement indiqu es. Un e discussion se paree tra ite des ob ser va ti ons li ees it la varia tion de la couverture d e gl ace de la terre. IT is convenient to consider the IGY glaciology investigations o f th e United Sta tes in two parts : Anta rctica and northern la titudes . In the Antarctic, emph asis was necessa rily placed on descriptive studies which are basic for more comprehensive g laciological research ; some d etailed programs were a lso conducted. In the Northern Hemisphere program , primary emphasis was placed on detail ed stud ies of chosen glaciers, a ltho ugh some reco nnaissa nce studi es were also conducted. ANTARCTICA PR E-IGYReference sho uld be made here to a publication issued lly th e National A cademy of Sciences (U .S. National Academy of Sciences, 1961, p . 38-41 ) . Although the co ntinent was sig hted as ea rl y a s the 1820'S, the first recorded landing was not m a d e until 1895 . The inl a nd ice was first seen in 1903 by Sco tt's pa rty in Vic toria Land , but th e first wintering on the inland ice was no t accomplished until 1956 at the U .S.S .R. Pio nerska ya Statio n in East An tarctica. The progress of glacio logical resea rch a nd the genera l state of know led ge regarding the Anta rctic ice cover prior to the IGY have been summari zed in English by L. C o uld a nd N. E. Odell , and in German by R. von Klebelsberg a nd H.-P. Kosack. The first truly interna tional effort-th e N orwegia n-British-Swedish Anta rctic Expedition of I 949-52-introduced compreh ensive geophysica l studies of the ice shelves of western Dronning M a ud L a nd and the adjoining inland ice, based o n the new concepts developed by H. W. Ahlma nn a nd H. U.Sverdrup in the North Atla ntic a rea . In ma n y ways this ex peditio n esta blished th e pattern o f the IGY glacio logy program .The pre-IGY expeditions a dded much to the knowledge o f the ice shee t and its spec ia l fea tures . Bu t, fo r th e mos t pa rt, it ha d not been possible before th e I C Y to do more tha n stud y o ne a rea, eith er in th e vicinity o f a base camp or on an overla nd trek. Expeditions we re isola ted in th eir own segm ent I)f the co ntinent, and re la ti vely little continuit y or coo rdination of o bserva tions co uld even be a ttempted . As la te as 1930, th e interi o r o f th e con tin ent , comprising• T he origina l m an usc ri p ts of thi s a rti c le from th e th ree aut hors were co-o rd ina ted b y Or. Pembro ke J . H a rt o f th e :\" a t...