part 1 PROCEEDINGS OE THE geological society, xci 



wide difference in temperature pertaining over the one and the 

 other. Thus the presence of extensive land at the Pole, in contra- 

 distinction to ocean, results, under present cosmicai conditions, in 

 increased refrigeration, and consequently in greater extension o1 

 the Polar ice-cap. This in turn reflects on the average temper- 

 ature of other regions of the glohe, for an ice-surface absorbs but 

 a relatively-small proportion of the sun's radiant heat. The 

 existence of the Antarctic Continent must, therefore, have some 

 bearing on the climate of the Northern Hemisphere, and be 

 reckoned with as a factor contributing to the refrigeration thereof. 



The Lecturer laid great stress upon the work of the outflowing 

 surface-winds in developing the domed form of the ice-cap. These 

 winds, owing to their persistence and violence, strip the surface of 

 much of the newly-fallen snow, and otherwise ablate the marginal 

 zone, thereby considerably reducing the volume of ice that would 

 otherwise reach the sea by glacial flow. Crevasses in the ice-cap, 

 observed far inland at ' The Nodules,' indicate that the ice of the 

 hinterland is in motion. 



In the seaward termination of the ice-sheet at Cape Denison, a 

 basal zone, attaining as much as 50 feet in thickness, bearing 

 englacial drift, is a well-marked feature. 



The shelf-ice formations, including the Ross Barrier and the 

 Shackleton Shelf Avere specially referred to : mention was made 

 of their growth and decline, of a method of determining their 

 depth below water, and of the probability of specialized life existing 

 beneath such formations. 



The President expressed to Sir Douglas Mawson the thanks of 

 the Fellows and Visitors for his Lecture. 



