The processes of melting, freezing, precipitation, evaporation and condensation were considered in the computation of the mass budget of an ice floe in the northern Chukchi Sea. It was bound that condensation and evaporation contribute negligible amounts, and that melting accounted for the largest loss from the upper surface of the floe. From an original mass of 270 g. cm.−2 a unit ice column lost 9.2 g. cm.−2 by melting of snow and 35.2 g. cm.−2 by melting of ice during the melt season. During the freezing period 5.8 g. cm.−2 were regained by the accumulation of snow and frost. Measurements at the bottom of the ice indicate an estimated net loss of 5 g. cm.−2 over a seven-month study. A comparison of six summers at three stations shows no obvious correlation of ablation and latitude, and an average loss of ice at the surface of 40 g. cm.−2.

If a bore hole of circular cross-section is made in an ice sheet or glacier, will it remain circular, or will it perhaps by some process of instability tend to depart from the circular shape? An argument is given to show that the circular shape is stable.

Several methods were tried to seal a room in ice which could be pressurized to the overburden pressure of the ice. We found that a keyed bulkhead consisting of two ice walls with an in-place frozen mixture of water, clay and styrofoam pellets between them produced an effective seal.

Published data on the creep of polycrystalline ice and crystals oriented for non-basal slip are discussed in terms of theories of prismatic slip in hexagonal metals. It is concluded that creep of polycrystalline ice near the melting point is controlled by non-basal slip but a decision on the exact mechanism of slip cannot be made on the basis of available data.

The maximum diameters of a lichen of known growth rate have been measured on the bedrock flanking glacier Tasîssârssik A (lat. 66° 06′ N., long. 36° 58′ W.) in East Greenland. The estimated age of the lateral trimline of this glacier is 133±20 yr., indicating that the recent recession of this and other glaciers in the Caledonian alps, East Greenland, appears to be synchronous with the overall recession in West Greenland.

Gulkana Glacier, consisting of three major ice streams and two prominent ice falls, displays a complex foliation pattern. In the western ice stream, below Gabriel Ice Fall, the foliation is transverse, developing gradually down-glacier into a distinct series of nested arcs. The arcs are concave up-glacier with the foliation dipping steeply toward the inside of the arc. A similar pattern is displayed in the eastern ice stream but there the pattern is less distinct with the arcs evolving into a series of nested semi-arcs. The central ice stream is characterized by vertical layers of foliation with a longitudinal strike. Apparently, longitudinal foliation will form in areas with strong compression and shear caused by differential flow velocity such as where two ice streams unite. The foliation that ultimately displays arcuate (or semi-arcuate) patterns originates principally at the base of an ice fall where strong longitudinal compression is present due to the decrease of gradient.

Equations and a graph are presented for calculating gravity anomalies on a two-dimensional glacier model having a horizontal upper boundary and a lower boundary which is a parabola with a vertical axis of symmetry.

Névé-capped snow pillars found on Teton Glacier in August 1956 were formed in the same manner as the ice cones of glacier tables, the névé acting in this instance as the protective cover usually provided by slabs of rock. Measurements of the largest pillar indicate a minimum ablation of 6.5 ft. (1.98 m.) of snow on the surface of Teton Glacier for that summer up to 7 August, and suggest an average rate of snow wastage of 1.5 in. (3.8 cm.) per day during this time. The pillars appear to have been produced by ablation through melting due primarily to direct radiation but supplemented by indirect radiation and conduction-convection influenced by air currents moving across the surface of the glacier.