128 Alaskan Science Conference 



in the St. Elias Mountains, partly in Yukon Territory and partly 

 in Alaska, and appropriately, by parties composed of both 

 Canadians and Americans. Detailed observations of the firn 

 have been made, including thermohm records of ice tempera- 

 ture at depths; studies of the physical character of the neve in 

 pits dug down to 50 feet; density profiles; analyses of the free 

 water content of the snow and firn; melt water percolation; rate 

 of ablation by melting and evaporation; and rates of snow ac- 

 cumulation between what were believed to be annual horizons. 

 Measurements were also made of ice movement at the surface 

 and of ice thickness by seismic means, gravimeter, and radar 

 (36). In 1949, Henri Bader conducted crystallographic and 

 structural studies on the ice of the Malaspina Glacier. This is 

 probably the most extensive single glacier system in North 

 America and in the Malaspina, represents the largest and best 

 example of a piedmont glacier outside the Polar Regions. The 

 Navy, through the Office of Naval Research, and the Depart- 

 ments of the Army and the Air Force provided major support 

 for this scientific program. A third field season is now planned 

 for 1951. 



In 1948, another somewhat similar undertaking was begun 

 by the American Geographical Society, near Juneau on the 

 neve of the Coast Range, which for convenience is referred to 

 as the Juneau Ice Field (19, 26, 27, 32). This project was 

 continued in 1949 and 1950 and has had for its primary objec- 

 tive the detailed study of the regimen of a glacier system, the 

 meteorological factors by which it is influenced, the structure 

 of the neve and underlying ice, and the causes of its variations 

 in volume. Four profiles to measure the thickness of the Taku 

 Glacier were made by seismic means in 1949 (37), and the 

 following year a drill rig was set up on the neve with which 

 cores were obtained to a depth of nearly 300 feet. A pipe was 

 left in the drill hole which will be surveyed periodically to 

 determine its displacement and which will provide a means of 

 measuring the temperature of the interior of the glacier. This 

 project was made possible by the cooperation and support of 

 a number of federal agencies. Of primary importance was a 



