THE VARIATIONS OF GLACIERS. IX.' 



The International Committee on Glaciers met in Vienna last 

 summer, and the retiring president, Professor S. Finsterwalder, 

 presented a report to the International Congress of Geologists, of 

 which the following is a brief summary:^ 



Although the committee has been at work only nine years, a time 

 too short for very general results, still we can say that the thirty- 

 five years' period which Bruckner found in the variations of the 

 Alpine glaciers applies also to glaciers in other parts of the world. It 

 is also probable that there are longer climatic periods than this 

 whose course is very complicated; moreover, the individual character 

 of the variations of special glaciers is, without doubt, dependent 

 upon the topography of their basins. We therefore have to do with 

 variations of a very complicated character, as they depend both upon 

 climatic changes and upon individual characteristics. But we can 

 say, in general, that the dominating tendency of glaciers at the 

 present time is to retreat. There are many exceptions to this rule, 

 the reasons for which are not understood. The Mont Blanc group 

 showed some tendency to advance in the eighties, and within the 

 last twenty years this advance has been transferred to the most 

 easterly Alps, though not advancing regularly over the intervening 

 regions. 



The Vernagtferner presents the most remarkable phenomena. 

 This glacier increased 400"^ in length between 1897 and 1902, which 

 is not so extraordinary for it; but, in addition, the velocity of flow 

 in a certain profile near the end increased from 17™ to over 250*^ 

 per year, and then suddenly within one year sank back to 80™. The 

 Vernagtferner is unique in other ways, and the careful study of its 

 characteristics will add greatly to our knowledge of glaciers. 



Professors Forel and Richter have offered explanations of the 



^ The earlier reports appeared in this Journal, Vol. Ill, pp. 278-88; Vol. V, pp. 

 378-83; Vol. VI, pp. 473-76; Vol. VII, pp. 217-25; Vol. VIII, pp. 154-59; Vol. IX, 

 pp. 250-54; Vol. X, pp. 313-17; Vol. XI, pp. 285-88. 



^ Comptes rendus du Congres geologique international de Vienne 1903, pp. 161-69. 



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