The little-known alpine glaciers of the Zailiyskiy and Dzhungarskiy Alatau of the Kazakhskaya S.S.R. were subjects of detailed glaciological study as a part of the I.G.Y. program. Field observations from July 1957 to December 1959 continued studies initiated by the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakhskaya S.S.R. in the Dzhungarskiy Alatau in 1947. Specialists from the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., from the University of Moscow, and from East Germany collaborated with those of the Academy of the Kazakhskaya S.S.R. to provide the broad coverage of disciplines related to the I.G.Y. glaciological program.
The recently published volume of results comprises 17 papers in Russian that deal largely with those studies centered on the Maloalmatinskiy and Tsentral’nyy Tuyuksuyskiy glaciers of the Zailiyskiy Alatau, along the southeast border of Kazakhstan. These papers cover a wide variety of subjects, such as the environment of the alpine zone as related to its meteorology and insolation and their effects on the alimentation of the glaciers, the conversion and changes in the physical properties of snow during its metamorphism to glacier ice, ablation, thermal gradient within the glaciers, and surficial glacier motion. Of special interest are reports on ice-boring techniques, methods for determining the thickness of glaciers, and the application of an electrical method to the study of recent moraines. Descriptions of older moraines and related river terraces of outwash and of bedrock benches along valley walls indicate glacier fluctuations in the Dzhungarskiy Alatau that are suggested to be possibly correlative with those of European glaciers during the Riss and Würm stages.
The extensive bibliographies of Russian reports that accompany each paper will prove a boon to specialists wishing for further information. Brief English summaries for each paper are helpful in determining their general content, but they range widely in the amount of informative data given. Those not familiar with the Russian language will wish that captions to the many tables and figures scattered throughout the volume had been translated. The lack of large-scale maps of the glaciers and the adjacent terrain is a serious handicap to the student who desires a clearer concept of the glaciers and the spatial Iocation of the study areas relative to the local terrain. However, this valuable and timely contribution of results obtained in a little-known area is welcomed heartily by those interested in the results of the I.G.Y. program. Not only are specific data made available, but an opportunity is presented for comparison of results with those obtained by other I.G.Y. programs in far separated areas of alpine ice cover.
