264 POLAR PROBLEMS 



Pleistocene glaciation, when Antarctica supported an even greater 

 ice capping than is the case at present. In the same department of 

 inquiry observations are wanted as to the height above sea level to 

 which the rocks of the mountains have been eroded by the ice. 



A quite remarkable and significant feature of Antarctica is that, 

 though so severely glaciated in Pleistocene and Recent times, no 

 record of previous glacial conditions has yet been observed in its rocky 

 strata. A very careful search should be made for such at all times in 

 the sedimentary strata wherever occurring. Any evidence shedding 

 light upon the past climate of Antarctica is most desirable and will 

 help to clear up the present enigma of a polar land with no previous 

 glaciations, whereas Australia, in a temperate to tropical situation, 

 exhibits in its strata repeated striking evidence of glaciation on a 

 grand scale. 



Life in the Sea Below the Shelf Ice 



The great extent of shelf ice is one of the unique features of the 

 Antarctic. Such formations range from a few hundred to perhaps 

 some two thousand feet in thickness and completely deck over the 

 sea, excluding light and limiting circulation and aeration of the sea 

 water below. The underlying waters will, of course, be difficult to 

 investigate on account of inaccessibility, but any information relating 

 thereto, and especially in regard to organic life there existent, would 

 be a novel contribution. A general absence of living plant life is to be 

 expected, which circumstance must greatly limit the possibilities for 

 animal life. Preliminary studies of some value in this respect could 

 be readily made in the case of waters of currents issuing from beneath 

 the shelf-ice formations such as the Ross Barrier. 



Evidences of Changes of Level 



Careful watch should be maintained along Antarctic shores for 

 evidences of change of level of the land relative to the sea. It is 

 generally accepted that a waning of the Antarctic ice cap is in progress. 

 In accordance with the theory of isostasy this unloading of the area 

 should be followed by a general uplift of the land. The determination 

 of the amount of uplift to date and the establishment of datum marks 

 for future observation are wanted. 



Gravity, Magnetic, and Auroral Observations 



With a view to obtaining an accurate knowledge of the figure 

 of the earth, gravity determinations by pendulum observations are 

 needed both on the sub-Antarctic islands and at numerous bases on 

 the Antarctic Continent itself. 



