ABSTRACT. l\ l eighen Is la nd lies in the centre of th e north coast of th e Q ueen E liza beth Isla nds a nd fronts o n the Arct ic O cean. An ice cap of a bo ut 76 km . 2 covers a bou t one-te n t h o f the isla nd . Its g reatest thickness of 150 m . occurs under th e su mm it, nea r th e sou th en d , whi ch was 268 m . above sea -l evel in 1960 . T he northern ha lf of the ice cap is less th a n 30 m. th ick ; a nd th e to ta l volum e is of th e o rd er of 2, 000 X 10 6 m .l.Precip ita ti o n is low in th e n o r thern Queen E liza beth Isla nds, a n d M eig hen Isla nd lies in a n a rea wh ere sum mer te m pera tures a re lowest. I n th e win te rs of 1959-60, 1960-6 1 a nd 196 1-62 , th e snow accumu la tio n was 12' 6 , 18· 2 and 14 ' I cm . of wa ter eq u iva lent . Som e snowfa ll re m a in ed on the hig he r p a rt of th e ice cap in th e cold su mmer of 196 1 ; bu t the ice ca p d imi n ished in volu me in ea ch yea r ; b y 36 X 10 6 , 72 X 10 6 , 22 X 10 6 a nd 9 1 X 10 6 m . l in th e 1959, 1960, 1961 a nd 1962 abla t io n seasons.I f th e con d itions of these fo ur seaso ns were m a inta ined t he ice cap wou ld d isappea r in a bo ut 100 yr. H owever, a rad io-ca rbon datin g of a saxifrage ex posed by the retrea t of th e ice from a sma ll nuna tak n ea r the nort hern edge ga ve a d a te o f less tha n 100 yr. , a nd it a ppea rs that th e ex iste nce of th e ice cap migh t be sensitively rel a ted to recent cl im a ti c cha nge.Ca refu l su rveys were m a de in 1959. 1960 and Ig6 1 in a n a ttempt to d etect movement in th e ice cap. U nequi voca l ev idence is no t ava ila b le from th ese surveys; bu t the stake n etwo rk has been m a inta in ed a nd a noth er su rvey has recen tly b een completed. R ESUME. "/stJecfs de La gLacioLogie dans riLe Meighell ( T. du .N. -D. ). S itu ee au cent re d e la cote nord des iles d e la R e in e-Elisab elh , I' il e M e ig hen fa it face a I'ocean A rct iqu e . E IIc est reco uvert e, sur cm,iron u n d izieme ell' sa surface. d ' un e ca lo tte glac ia ire e1 e quel que 76 kil omet res can es . La g la ce a tleint sa p lus g ra nd e ep a isse ur ( 150 m e tres) so us le po i11l c u lm inant , p res d e I' ex t rrm it c sud . et do nt I' a ltitude <'ta it e1e 268 m e tres en Ig60 . Dans la mo iti <' no rd e1 e la ca lo tte, la glace a mo ins e1e 30 metr es d 'c pa isseur. La ca lo tte con t ien t a peu pres 2000 X 100 m e tres cu bes d e g lace.La prec ip ita tion es t fa ib lc d a ns la pani e no rd des il es de la R e in e-E lisa bcth, et I' ile l\1e ighen se tro u ve da ns u n e reg ion 011 les te mj: c ra tu res d 'e te son t les p lus basscs . A u co ur's des hivers I 959-60, Ig60-6 1 e t Ig6 1 62 . la couche d c ne ige accumu lee eq u iva lait a 12.6, 18,2 e t 14. 1 cent im etres d 'ea u . ' 11 en res tai l UII peu sur la pa ni c supe r ie u re de la ca lott e durant r e te fraid d e Ig6 1. :\ Ia is a u COlJl'S d es sa isons d 'ab lation (eva pora t ion et fu sion d e la g lace) d e Ig59, Ig60. 196 1 et Ig62 , le vo lu:TI C d e la ealo tl e a dim...