THREE COMPOSITE GLACIOLOGICAL WORKS OF FOREIGN AUTHORS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 20
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: April 29, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
- - -
_-----
-I rl~ree Composite C~lacio Logical ~dorks of Foreign Authors"
Problemy Fizicheskoy Geografi-i,
Volume )CVI, pages 197" 203
Moscow; 1951.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
STAT
? pIA ~Y 1ORI AUTHORS
cAOIOLOGIC men's &d, do epee
the e~rGx?rowa.n; ddeve~.op
ors caxl;io~n ~itY~ ,
o~ tit~xee~ to became
to the USSR, it is a ~r
.~~.c&a1,c~~;a.ca7, re~ea~^cYa kr10ge abroad.
arr~i1iar w:i.tY1 the p level. a~ a coneidex 'b~,'a.e~?Y cuxgent
' wUl be enS'~7.c~.enh~ t
7~0~' this: pur~~o,e It ., the pe~^~ad~.ca~- 1.a.'~exa-
~~ w'Lthout going rote
carnpendia o~ ga.ar,a.o~-o?~J y
qua^e or Sepax'ate papers
tlr~
a x,k J , penned o'I f/~~~n
We take up three Q v ~ a Mr a YV 11 V J~
shathree each works
lyl~.
ed between 19L2 and
n sc'ien'tists, that have appear
pl~bli~;hed
eig 1:n ~~ cha~ta,chek was
book by ~rygaisk~. and Ma
-
. 9.
L ~a2 a. , r~a ~l-ski an d ~ ~ ~`~ach
le ttGl,acio~.ay" a ~ L ? I)r5
i_fl Eni.ra vnd~r the it 1e the rode"
Wren, 19b.2, 261 pp1 as one
k~ pa? dex`
C~ GlFf~scherkunc~e, ~.,nz o
~.e
a;ts~he~-
ncyc-l.---op ~~~ ~
pendent pa its off. the mplea.i C~erm~~n sci~r.~ists p'arti
in the. w ritin~~ o?: i. cYr many
,~~~'~CUnL1e ) ,
cipated.
well. kno~~n tbrou~;h their
D rJ y gal.ski and Machachek axe , ~ ,uainted t1~.rou~;h
aciolo~y? The f?iner i5 ac,c,.
wark~; in the Field of ~~.
pers glaciers in the wor7.~1 x
with almost all farms of
-
onal ob cr~ratian w~
e~.tici
' whic;~~,. rc;~;i_on 17e acts-Ve1y pa
ciall,l in the ~~ntaxct~-c, cunt an cur`?~
esp
a
k~a ft 01C seem that we rrt ht
~ate~ in the ~csearc ed in .this baoka
. ~,a ieal views being fu11~1~ re;elect
rent ~l~ca-o
The px ofa ~1aca.ol~~~~-cal ency
ace staee that the book IS a ow~
vel c
c1 ~
1ed _ ra?Cal kr~
opedia which xe~lecte the currEnt :le of laciol-off
nc,~ -- ~~~la-
#~ea and is meant. to replace the simar book of He~, much o1x~-dated today.
appeared in 19a~ and a.e verb
tiers ~r .. wha.ch
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
It remarks incidentally that since 19())4 glaciology had developed
into an ai.mos t independent 1' ue1d of physi.cal geography, with a
.
strong a rds physiCs (which cannot be gainsaid - Q .),
.)reana,n~ towards
that the fie1d of .1aciology had been broadened not only in a
. ~
acicrltl - but in a territorial sense as well, and that band in
.~.c ser~sc
hand with th the new work, especiaily that of the f1ar explorations,
essential and t radical changes in the m..thod s of observation had
d and the researches had become more extensive and in-
been a.ntxodu.ce
corrtparably more proi'oundp
The book consists of 70 chapters, in which the whole range
of questions of current foreign glaciology is surveyed in rather
great detail s The discussion of a few separate questions deserves
acertain amoun b of attentian o The most interesting chapters are
IV -- "physics of Icett
Msu
~~~~'rierm.odnamics of Glaciers and. Main-
land Ice't; and IX, ttGeorgraphic Distribution of Giacierst'. (In con
nect:7.ori a_th the latter chapter it must be remarked that though the
w
description of South AmeriC&I and Antarctic glaciers is good., that of
the soviet glaciers is poorly done.)
Having noted a few favorable sides of the book, we come now
to very substantial faults.
The authors have not used the materials of Soviet Glaciologists,
'which are very essentiai for current glaciology, nor have they used
the materials in the recent work of Altman and. Demorestd This omiS
lion is unfavorably reflected in the quality of the book, both with
respect to completeness in reflecting the views of a number of ques'
Lions and in the sense of completeness in the presentation of cur-
rent glaci_ologicai- researcha
uh~t~ir
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP82-00039R0002000100
41-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
The a entire book is permeated by the idea that glaciaiogy as a
d and Is being developed onl.y by the Germane.
science was dc,v elope
1~, dto rs af' obher n~z~,onala.~,a.e s~ es~peca.a~.J,y by
Y'he work don e by a. nve st,. ~ ~,
the Rus~;iaras, is belittled, ~ .t anc~,, as far as po,si.b].e, ~.g~iox~belittled, 1
idea shows itself not only a. ~ n the Preface, whicYr cans fists substarrtial7.y
of' a, short histax~ oi glaciology, but. rues like a reel thread through
the wha ;to rical sketch, for in stance, ~'aa.7_s even to
~. e book . The Y~a. s
menfion the name of P. A. Kropotkin, to say nothing, 0?' the Soviet
i_nvesti.gators Thus, the ~ u v' et?Gern;,an Pamir ~~>e;d.i~tion oi' 1y~~8 is
e o ~.
German one, and it is stated that it was carried out
termed a purely
through the efforts Of GerrTlan scientists, there is not a word men-
bout the Soviet investig~tos who participated in this ex-
boned a s 0
sedition; d eat part played by Soviet research in the
an ~~~et the great
Pamirs is carrUrtOn knaveiedgre. As fox the glaciers of any other coun-
. that all substantial steps in their study were
it tllr71,5 ~ out t ~
try,
taken by the Germans, and so one
The leading role in the book is assigned to the ?'Alpine schc,al't
~
r is services in both past d present development of
of glaciology. 1 .
ga.aciolagy are extolled and obviously exaggerated. This school, in
is truth and in complete disregard of the nation-
. spite of the ha.stor
ality of its many founders, is declared to be purely German since
,~
birth. It must also be noted that it is pre-
the very moment. of its
cisely this method of approach of the 'Alpine schoolt to the consider
anon of vdr S phenomena that is a distinguishing feature of the
r ~.oll~,
book and one of its substantial f aL~ ts. Although the authors have
timodernized~- many views of this school, they have nevertheless, clear
,
ccount of the differences in the regularities
ly failed to take due a
governing the development of glacial phenomena -- differences re-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
ecula.arz,tlea off' the da.~'f'erent geagrapl?ua.c
su1?ta.ng from the na,turai p
:ree he nmEChar,:i.sta.c" app11cat10n
regons. To a, very cansid,exbl deg
. ~E; ~..nterpreta,tior~ of the glacial
a~: bhc~ ~~A1.pz.neregu~.ar:l.t~.es to ~~
henomena of other cauntri.es is an irr.erent aharac?ter:i.stic off' this
p
such construction~> has been repeatedly
The ur~tenab~.l~.ty of dea1M
book.
ts
tu.ze and is clear to 5ova.et g1acial0g.6
stressed in our 1iirera
ink; as trey da wa.t11 the most varied glacial farmatiorl.ti located in
'..
the various phYs1~geo .,raphY regi.ans of our Faher7.a,nd*
~.ca.
The authorls u~.~derest Jlate the role of t
culiaritiea of the ~'orma~tion arid develop-.
physical geo~xaphy in the pe
give aril.y faint and far from camp~?ete
menu of glaciers s and they also .
' interaction and in~t,errelan o~
expxessiar! of the complex dynamo.c ~ =tote
y eogra ha.cal m.leau of which they constr..
these f'ormat~.on`aw~-th the g ~ ., ,~
The ieiatian of the separate parts of glaciers is also
a part. ,the lntez
given inadequate consideration.
asorls it seems to us that the gc;nez?al. cants
1'o~~ these basic re a
a~~s as we1.1 are not deserving; of entire caries
structions of th.e authors
evolu;tiarr
~
for instance, an the questions of the
f.'idence, espec~.all.y ~ do
ansa The fain-ts we have enur~ier'at 6d, however, of glac~.al format.H
no ~'lecting ~ the cc,ndition of current glac~.onot prevent. the book from re
logical knowledge abroad.
We point autA finally, that the book of S. ~a Kalesr1ik entitled...
s ublished in the USSR in 1929, and
nGcrLeral Glaciala~y," wh:l.ch wa p
n~t to the book of 'Dry?~~-sl~i and. Mach-
is anal-a~ous in purpose and content
bl respects
atschek under review, in unques~~? ~-ol~a y superior to it in all respe
and ' - of the red- s~.tuation, in spite of the
and gives' a far t~~,er p~.ctuze
fact that it appeared three years earliero
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
sh.1. 1~rie~'1.y disclass is by . Kpec~~ll,in,
we
The second book w117.ch wc. s
Glaciers and ?bheir Mechanisrrt:~ R. ~,G~echl.i.n ? Lc
and is en,tx.aled I~'~he Gl.a
n ~ It appea
ur mecanisme,Lau.sanl1e, i941, 17r, i pp J
glaciers et le appeared in
L ~' clod into two pares; the ~"a.rs~,,y consisting.
~8lU.5c1C1I1E: in l9~, and is dive.
while
of six chapters, elucidates the general qucsta.ans; of g1.acial.ogY,
~ ha '~c~i;`S and. is devoted to a max' dew
the second pare conta? ~.n~~ seven c;~
' sn1 a?: glaciers and a comparisan of this
tailed arialysi5 of the r~~G~l~S11.
mechanism with that of the stream of water.
~.ccarding to the introduction, written by Picard, the book
. - ? ciala by supplying a pra:Eaund and.
Fills in an existi11.g gap in gi-a gY
mechanism of glaciers, and also ~'urnishe5
complete examinG.tion o? the mechanism a1
on lacier, and is of great itez?es~~ to .1
exhaustiVe ini' o rmat~.on g
E .iorxs, espec-i.a1.1. y f'ar spsci.al.ists
those ~t~ere5~,cd. in mo~>ntaa_naus r~;
in glaciology and geologYo
The fairly numerous references to triiS book encountered in the
ure of foreign cauntriea, the; very table
current glaciological. li i,erat
. and :finally, the fact t~~.at tree author is a
of canr1ent5 of i,~ie book, ,
called it to our attenti.ane In addition
noted hydraulic engineer, aciola Taal opinion, f az~.ulated
to a. general SLtmmarY of current gl_ g
from the engineering approach (which presupposes a cri.tical.evalu~
a ' point of view) wo had also hoped tU Find in
at least an original treatment of ..the...
~~ion from the pta.caJ. this work, if' not a sal.utlan,
iected with the mechanisms af' glaciers ..a
f'urdarnenta1 questiana cGnr
for discus510 n? As is generaa.lY
questions that still renal open..
nt` and solution oi these questions is of very
known' the `developme
?,or theOretica7. glaciology and for ..the
great current interest both x
pGs a5?b~.litY of their practical applicati-ono
~.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
I.
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
The ~)ook arouses interest on a rapid exarinata,ar1 The c}I,apter
headings and the c sulaJ~ ects discl~s tein them compels the
list o~ ~,;~ _
a,sti11p has a significant content. But after going
~h~.on that the _ book h4
through d systeratically, the reader' is left
through it cax ei'~~.y an
feeling of di.sappaa.ntmcnt, Iii bhe first part the author essentially
eat glaciological hypotheses which have
does nothing more than. rep .
land; been canunan knowledge and some of which are already obsoletC,
setting th.Ern ~ forth without substamtiation and without adding anything
new .Many qu.esti.ons are set forth in a primitive manner, and some-
d
times the expasa.ta. t ' an is simply untrue The author has mad.e no use of
the glaciological work a~ recent years that has made fundamental modiw
'
ficatiofls in the study o?' these q.uestionS, Tu;e book on the whole is
written azound the materials of a small num~ ex^ of i wdel.y known, clash
si.ca:L Alpine gl.aca.oga '.cal investigations, mainly around the data per"
tainir~g to the 'Rhone, Alcta r ch and }{hantereysfex^ner (Chanter~ai5fez~l8r)
glaciers.
belittling the value of these in : estigatiorL.s in their
Without
taarie, or their significance for the historical development of glaciology'
we may point ou:b that modern glaciology as a whole has advanced a con-
r . distance past that stage, ar~d that there is consequently not
siderable
the slightest, reason for basing new work on the antiquated Ilclassic
Alpine theses ?n -
We turn now to the second part oi' the book, which analyzes the
mechanisms of glaciers. The author maintains that first of all there
f gla
a two f o.rms of motion possessed by glacier. The first form is a
are,
ice-mass (we emphasize "entire ice-mass' ),
sliding motion of the entire
similar to that of a solid body on an inclined planed The second form,
properly speaking, is reall
flow of the ice, imposed on it by its
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Aproved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
Mastic properties. The first form of motion pe,r'fazms the work of
S~
grinding down the mountain rocks, iha't is, the erosion that appears
out the entire extent of the glacier, The second form --? the
thx ough
Flow does not perform this work. The existence of these two forms
~-
.. ~
of motion . s not proved by the author; he asser l s it, and that is all.
i .
it is further stated, again entirely without argurnentation, that
during the stationary condition of glaciers and during their periods
of recession, one of these forms of motion, namely sliding, is absent, and only the second form M- the flow --- is acting. Uuring the epochs
of advance, on the other hand, the first form -? sliding -? dominates,
over thE. second fonn. Thanks to the sliding o? the entire ice-mass
during an advance of the glacier, moraines of pressure are formed, the
plowing-up action` of the glacier is manifested in the friable layers,
and the entire (we emphasize the word. "'entire'") erosional work of
the glaciers takes place during these periods.
The author then goes on to say that, in effect, no one has yet
succeeded in observing the sliding motion, since all exact measure-
ments had been made during periods of glacial recession. Consequently
the whole sliding motion is allreconstruction", of which the basis is
unknown to us. Soviet glaciolorists cannot accept such axioms for
truth.4 4e have personally observed glaciers during periods of ad-
vance 3 but did not note any signs of the ice sliding as a` whol.e. On
the contrary, we noted such motion not for the entire glacier as a
whole9 but for individual blocks of deed ice at the terminals of re-
ceding glaciers.
As far as we have been able to notice, the plasticity of the
ice increases in advancing glaciers. Thus what we have succeeded in
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
observing stand S a.n direct aontradi.Gtiaf to the hypotheses athe au~
that a. , the book. vE,r, we never noted any appreciable plow~.n
.~ L ~~orea
up by the advancing ice in 1.riable rock layers, and we never succeeded
"
in a.scave .rt.dicatiOrls painting to the formation of ttmaraine$
d,.n~, any .. a.
of pressure." even the ve~;e~~~,t,~.orl covering the
Un the contrary,
rrlarai.nes, up on ~ha.ch the glacier was ad.vanci.r7.g , sti.lL persisted. Ap~
pare mechanism af' motion. and the ti'az?ms tt a~' motion of the
rr~mechanism :ice in glacanexs are..
in L act different from what the author surmises
them ?to be.
her1 he analyzes thc~ mechanics of glaciers, the author 1ai-ls
W
to consider certain phenomena that exert an extremely substantial in-
fluence on this `tmechan1CS1' and const:i.tute important elements thereof.
Such phenomena. include, for instance, the recrystaJ.liZat~ior~ of the
ic, its tempera,tux Ye canda.tions ax}ds in genera"]., all questions of the
e
state of glac ~,d of its physics . By the rechanism of the
~.al ice a x
glacier, in the last a1~ sis , the author means the motion of a
an ,~
certain materi with certain properties (given by the author and
al
connected to an unkno~m extent with the real ice of glaciers) under
rldi.tians (again laid down by the author and differing from
certain ca
those which are actually observed). Under these circumstances it is
~ by y using the wellwJnorelations of mechanics, to work
v ~,~ y 5 am~~l ~, out .:.a calculation of the mechanism of `motion and of the results of
otion. The simplicity of these actions, however,
the work of that xn..
is eGuivaient to their uselesSne s.
Moreover, the consic~erati ~n of the mechanism of glaciers is
confined to only a single part of the body of the glacier, namely to
its ' callectort, or r tlcent oral portion, 'I according to the author' s termin-
oa.o?;Y3 and this s - portson is in effect unconnected with the other re-
.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
giu:n$_ of the gJ.aeier. lnca.dcnta:L1Y, .the author djvides a g:lac Ler
into e g.on of accur~ulatioris or fire, the central.
'~l`~ree parls~ the ~;~
'on, or collector, ncI t)a~; tc,z~~gue proper. 'T'he cola,ec~t,or is
collector, a
port~~.
character mutual proximity of accurllul.ati.on and. ablation, as
rate of both processes. :fry th.i is part
~.,e d by well as by the insigni.ficr7nt
proceeds s mainly the transport . of ma,terial from the :~z.xrL to the
, mere
torigue in space, the collector occupies the position i'rom the snow
.
irie down to the vex beginniJ g of the glacier. The tongue is a
"y
region of d.orninant and very considerable ab.Lation, while the firn
is of dominant and very considerable acc;umulatJ.on. Thus
~,,, a region the author defines the other two parts of the ;lacier. We cannot
agree with the corz,.ec, ~.lnOss o f so essentiaJ.ly artificial and decidedly
indefinite a division of a glacier into parts
As fur anal, sis of the mechanism of movement i.n the other parts
y ~
of the g1ac entirely omitted for the tongue, while for
indicated that the parts have two forms
the region of the fi?cn it is
of notion; a down~r~ ~.. movement, or subsidence,' and a for4~r~rd movement
.
~z~~
toward. the terminus o1' tht; glacier, which is illustrated by a diagram.
of the movement of the glacier as a whole is in fact re~
`I.'he m.achanisrn
presented by only single diagram, which reproduces this movement in
.. ~~
accordance with Sebastian T'7.nsterwalder1 s geometrical theory of low
.
in. a. stationary glacier. Ais coinrnonly known, this theory gives an nsatisfact0rY , expJanation of the movement of a glacier, as has been
u.
most o o sical research ' in recent years,
most dist.~.nc~tly shown by glac--~- ~
at the present time is obsolete.
From all that has been said, we h aVe every reason to consider
examined the mechanism of movement of
that the author, at best, has
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
only a single part o:C the body oi' the ga.acier, under' cer,'tain definite
coed itions, and abstracted from the entire g.Lac. er as a single Wr1ole,
which is of real interest, has not been anai.yzed at all by him. The
present work can thus hardly bF useful. in the development o:k' glaciology.
We nagined that the author, being a well'-known hydraulic
enggineer, would give an original, m~~thamati.cally~?grour~ded interpreta-
tion o.' the mechanism of glaciers. And, as a matter of fact, we do
encounter a rather large number of t`oxmulaCr in the book, especially
in its second parts But these forniiui.ae are merely of an abstract
character, and, from our point of view, fail to reflect the phenomena
that actuai.l y take place s /Most of them have been obtained by substi.
tutix g a f'ew new values oi' constants i'or the orLgtal values in for
mulae in use for currents of water,' without properly taking into acs
count the peculiarities and the essential nature o?' the ice-stream
as such, i, e . ,` in the whole procedure there is visible the mechanical
transformation of the formulae for water currents in order to apply
them to the glaciers It is therefore not surprising that in conse-
chuence basic formula `have been obtained which are identical with those
r
previously found by Lagalle and Somiltyan and distinguished from
these latter only in the fact that this author expresses the coeffi~
cierit oi' friction in different units. ' The author notes the coin-
cidence of these formulae, and sees it as a confirmation of the correctness of his deductions with respect to the character of the mechanism
of glaciers d We consider that this coincidence speaks only for the
accuracy of the mathematical work; for premises, materials and con
elusions were identical. in both cases.
Moreover, the formulae derived by the author are based on
arbitrary and completely unexplained assumptions relative to the
- 10 w-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
primary ements definin}, th~a mechanism o?' movement
Finai.l,y, as kxaa ].ready been rGCa:l.led above, Koech1a.n dera.vt;3
his .,r the 7nr..~ ,crl , a.sm o~ movement off' a glacier lr only for a
formulae faan
? namely for its central ~aoz~t.~:ons w~.thM
s;Lrl~;;l,e-parta.on a:~ the ~;J.c~Ca.Gr, ~Y
out conneeti.an with the rcrnain parts of the body of the. glacier,
~.n~r , rld he also fails ,a.ls to es amine tliie mecharn ism for. the glacier as a
whole.
i an investigat1orl of the mechanisrrl of a glacier,
Even f'ox S ucl
the author narrows a.t and lirni.ts it by a series of candl.tians. Fi.rst:ly,
? " he lacier must be of. l~z~Lifarra breadth thx^ou~;h-
?t)'lis central r7az ta.an o~. t g
it must be rectilinear, must have an almost para-
out a.ts entire extent, a-
uniform surface slope. The second canda.tian
bolas cross section and a
is h !r be in a stationary condition. As we see, these
that the glacier restrictionS move this abstract central 'portion of an idea glacier
~ ter, ~:~rapos of tha,s, Somil~. ,1 ~rXd
away from z
stall further .~eala.4r
Lagall.e also posited sa.mz.l'ar rastra.ctiol~s and conditions in deriving
All this compels us to coz~sa_der the formulae
their on falmulaG
proposed by Koeehlin as not wari'antin" attention.
In consequence o.l' these c:i_rcurn.s Lances we cannot consider that
the dependence obtained by the author between wa.dtla, thickne4;5 and
i5 acclxr~te (he uses this depender.~ce to
surface slope of. a glacier
calculate the thickness rs of glaciers). ers)Thus. the mathemati.cal side of
the work is likewise of no interest.
In r reviews, tendentiouSlY benevolent, it has been.
foreign boar
achievement of the boob under di sous Sian
indicated that the principal
lel between the processes taking place. in
is the deduction of a paral
~ll
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
a strearr of water and those that occurring in a g,Lacier, and in the
rents of the abhor to the effect that movements may be seen
pronouncon
in of the g..Laeier which are similar to those which have
t1h, mechanism
shaped and. arc still shaping the strata of the rocks. It is the tat
.
ter circumstance, in the opinion of the author (and of some foreign reviewers ),which should attract the special attention of geologists
to glaciers as the key to the nderstanding of the fundamental geo-
logical questions.
The idea of comparing the motion of a glacier with that of a
stream of water is not in itself a new one; and as for the parallel
treatment of these processes, it is in this case devoid of signi~
fscance and of no particular value, since all the author has done is
to make a mechanical change in the formula for water streams to apply
it streams. Other such parallel treatments, obtained by vis
it to ~.
ual observations, have long been knowna The idea of comparing gla
tiers with rocks is likewise not new, and, among other things, has
long since been expressed by many Soviet investigators. As for the
study of the mechanism of glaciers with the object of reconstructing
the past movements of rocks and determining their contemporary re-
locations, it seems to us that in this case the matter is far more coma
plicated and that the difference between the mechanism of motion of
rs and that of rocks lies not alone in the quantitative pheno-
mena ~,la.a.e the incomparably lower velocity of rock and in the differ-
in vu e for the coefficient of friction The quantitative differ-
ent va.la.
ante of these two values must under all circumstances be accompanied by
qualitative changes of the entire process, of the entire "mechanism
There is therefore no ground for seeking analogies be~-
of movement."
tween them not to mention the fact that what the author proposes is
-12-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
Pff:S,~i:
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010041-4
>.ti;ficG~tion ai' these two phenomen~s having
the pure1y rneclnan:istlc :odor
i~ ca~.e It w1i~.ch, is abva.a7xsJ.y~ a.ncorr^ec~,r
or.;nSr df er~;nc~r ~ o~~ s ~
and
r mechanica':l . y p~~iysa.ca:J. ,
Thus the theoret:i.c~l, mathem'r~ic~.,
. ~, ~~,a not deserve attel";.t~.orn, Can the acw
deecra_pt7.ve parts of the wor
- ~ ~ servat~:ons, then, be of :interest?
tua1. m