The morphology of Snaefell, East Iceland, and the state of its glaciers in 1937 are described. There are four small glaciers. Two of these exist in well-developed cirques incised into the lavas, tuffs and breccias of this Pleistocene volcano. The third receives ice from a summit ice cap, while the fourth also receives ice from the same source as well as lying in a cirque. The firn line in 1937 is put between 1350 and 1500 m. so that the mass balance of the glaciers is unlikely to have been favourable, although only one showed any abandoned moraines. An explanation of the varying glacial modification of the different slopes of Snaefell is suggested in terms of structural trends, shading from the sun and snow-drifting.

Mt. Ruapehu, the highest summit in the North Island of New Zealand, is a semi-dormant volcano, whose crater lake was responsible for the flood that caused the disastrous railway accident on Christmas Eve, 1953. Since the last eruption of 1945, when mostly ash was ejected, the crater lake that subsequently formed has been contained by a barrier partly composed of lava and partly of névé and ash. It was the breaking through of the latter weaker portion of the dam that was responsible for the flood of mud and boulders which descended via the Whangaehu Glacier and struck the railway 25 miles (40 km.) distant. There is no evidence of eruptive activity having been the cause of the outbreak. During three ascents of the mountain, observations were made of the glaciers, which have been in a state of gradual shrinkage over a number of years. But during the past Summer—a season of exceptional dryness—the process of ablation and wastage has been greatly accelerated, so that immense areas of rock and ash have freshly emerged, and crevasses and dirt-ridges have taken the place of smooth névé or glacier surfaces.

Observations and measurements of ogives on Morsárjökull, Svinafellsjökull and Falljökull are given and discussed. The problems associated with the smaller ogives on Svínafellsjökull and the ridges below the ice falls are considered.

Measurements of heat balance and ablation on glaciers of the Eastern Alps carried out during a total of 45 days since the summer of 1950 indicate that in flat glaciated areas at approximately 3000 m. above sea level 81 to 84 per cent of the energy causing ablation is supplied by short wave radiation from the sun and sky. Only 16 to 19 per cent come from the air in the form of actual and latent heat. On glacier tongues at altitudes of approximately 2300 m. the percentage of ablation caused by radiation is only 58 to 65 per cent. This is primarily the result of the shortened duration of sunshine in the deeper valleys. The supply of perceptible and latent heat from the air can, at most, reach a value of 15 to 30 per cent on glacier tongues. Evaporation from the ice and heat supply by liquid precipitation are negligible during the normal ablation period (June till September).

It is to be expected therefore that the alpine glaciers will primarily react to variations of radiation and albedo during the months of June to September. The effects of changing summer temperatures are considered insufficient to cause the vast changes of the ice-cover. The variations of the duration of summer sunshine and the number of days with snowfall as a rough indication of albedo, respectively, are in perfect agreement with the behaviour of alpine glaciers during the last sixty years.

The Grinnell and Terra Nivea Ice Caps are the southernmost in eastern North America. The Grinnell Ice Cap reaches an altitude of 870 m. (2854 ft.). The general tendency is for slight retreat, but one large glacier is advancing. The equilibrium line is considerably lower than on the Penny Ice Cap to the north. Both firn and superimposed ice are important in the economy.