In spite of the clash with the meeting of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in Oslo, many members of the British Glaciological Society attended the International Geological Congress held in London during August and September 1948. In general, topics of interest to glaciologists were not particularly well represented in the papers presented to the Congress. For those who were interested in the chronology of the Pleistocene there was a special Section H dealing with the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary, containing many valuable papers covering a wide field. Otherwise glaciological items were distributed through Section M under “Other Subjects.”
There glaciology was represented by an important paper by Professor Arnold Heim dealing with the glaciation of South America and its relation to the tectonics of the region. Heim considers that distribution of Pleistocene glaciers could not wholly be explained by climatic change. He infers that Pleistocene tectonic movements have had a major influence on the extent of the glaciers during successive glaciations, in particular the southern Andes were higher in the Pleistocene than now, whilst the northern Andes were lower. It is clear that such considerations must have a significant bearing on the inferences as to climate that are drawn from the former extent of the glaciers.
A paper from the doyen of glaciologists, W. H. Hobbs, attributed a special significance to large erratic boulders glaciated on their undersides only. He refers to these as “saxums,” and claims that such boulders represent residual masses of rock from the pre-glacial weathered zone that were glacially transported. They are usually found at or near the glacier front, and have only been seen in association with the deposits of the initial glaciation.
Frozen ground phenomena of Pleistocene age and their significance in engineering problems were the subject of a paper by Professor Guido Zuruba. In the periglacial region of central Bohemia superficial disturbances are attributed to the former presence of ground ice in a deeply frozen but unglaciated region. Some are comparable with ice wedge structures in the Cambridge district described by Patterson, and others with some of the disturbances in the Northampton Ironstone Field described by Hollingworth, Taylor and Kellaway.
The concentration of alluvial gold as a result of glacial action in the highlands of south-west China was the subject of another interesting “Economic Glaciology” paper by J. S. Wu, who claimed that coarse-grained, exceptionally rich placer deposits are associated with crevasses in glaciated rock and in kettle-moraines, and that these are distinguishable from finer-grained, well sorted glaciofluvial placer deposits. Glacially controlled Pleistocene changes of sea-level were the subject of a number of contributions.
In several excursions before and after the meeting geomorphological features of glacial origin were examined. Particular attention was paid to this subject in the geomorphological excursion across England and Wales conducted by Professors S. W. Woolridge and A. Austin Miller.
The universal opinion was that this Congress, the first for eleven years, was an outstanding success, both from the point of view of organization and of scientific achievement. It was evident, too, from comments of those attending excursions, that interest in glaciological problems was widespread. Glaciology has always formed an integral part of Earth Sciences and in spite of increasing specialization it is to be hoped that in future Congresses consideration will be given to the allocation of a special section to include papers on glaciological subjects.
