ICE MOVEMENTS

Evening Star, Issue 21718, 12 May 1934, Page 23

ICE MOVEMENTS

LECTURE BY DR CftLKKIUS By means of illustrations and map* thrown on the screen, Dr C. C. Caldenius, a lecturer in geology at the Uni-; versity of Stockholm, who for the past seven months has been engaged on an investigation of the glacial and postglacial deposits of tho_ South Island* gave a large audience in the Museum lecture room last evening an interesting outline of his efforts to secure data in New Zealand and other parts of the world for the creation of a geological and meteorological time scale, which is the present aim of the Geo-Chrono-logical Institute of Stockholm. The lecture was given under the auspices or the Otago Institute, and the chairman,Dr Turner, in introducing the speaker* referred to the important. work in which he had been engaged in various parts of the world. It was certain, he said, that the visit of Dr Caldenius would mark an important episode ui the history of geological research in this tC> in the course of his address, referred to the _ Swedish time scale, the design of which was to determine the times at which the various glacial periods in the world s history, occurred, how long they lasted, and what was their subsequent influence on climate He mentioned also the attempts that had been made to ascertain the time taken by rivers to excavate their courses, by observing the. rate of retreat of waterfalls. Glacial action on the Scandinavian Peninsula was described, and he stated that 16,500 years ago inland ice covered the whole of that peninsula. As a result of the Swedish time scheme several important events in the history of Scandinavia had been dated. Ice movements in other parts of the world were described, and an explanation was given of them relationship with each other. The hug* moraine outside New lork, for instance, was found to correspond with the big moraine limiting the Scandmavian land ice. An investigation in Patagonia to obtain data by which glaciation in North and South America could be compared was detailed, and Dr Caldenius showed that at one time in the world’s history it would have been possible to walk from South America to Tierra del Fuego, as the Magellan Strait was once blocked with moraines. Interesting charts of parallel morainic beds at Buenos Aires, marking different periods of ice movements, were shown, together with pictures or huge glacial deposits in various parts ol H. D. Skinner thanked Dr Caldenius for his interesting and brilliant address, and the audience expressed its appreciation in a cordial manner.