Glaciology

There are a number of sub-disciplines or areas of research within Glaciology, often linking into other disciplines such as earth-sciences and physics. Here are a few; click on them to learn more about these exciting areas of study.

• Glacial Geomorphology

  Glacial geomorphology involves the study of glacial landforms. It is important to understand how glaciers have behaved in the past in order to predict what will occur in the future. Glacial geomorphologists combine a knowledge of glacial processes with observation of landforms to infer glacier behaviour over the last decades to millions of years.  Glaciology evolved as a discipline out of geology after the

• Remote Sensing

  Remote sensing is an important technique for observing present day glacier change. Satellite remote sensing has developed rapidly over recent years with the launch of satellites such as ICESat and Cryosat designed specifically for monitoring polar ice. These satellites are complemented by airborne and ground-based remote sensing techniques.  Changes in the mass of polar ice sheets can now be measured using satellites such as GRACE to record small variations in the earth's gravity; changes in ice volume are measured by high precisions altimeters and changes in the mass budget of the ice sheets are measured by feature tracking and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR). 

• Glacier Modelling

  Glacier modelling is used to predict the future of ice sheets and glaciers. Developing useful glacier models is vital in predicted the influence of changing climate on global sea-level and water resources.  Ice sheet and glacier models vary in scale from high resolution simulations of iceberg calving and ice shelf fracture mechanisms to full approximations of ice sheet response to climate over thousands of years.

APECS glaciology themed webinars

• Working with ice-cores is looking into the past

  Dorthe Dahl-Jensen - Working with ice-cores is looking into the past.

• Planning Fieldwork and Logistics

  Torre Jorgenson - Planning and Coordinating Field Work Logistics.

• So you want to affect policy?

  Bob Bindshadler - So you want to affect policy?.

• Communicating about climate change

  Terry Chapin - Communicating with the public about climate change.

• Working with the media

  David Vaughan - Working with the Media.

• APECS Virtual Poster Session

  2011 July – Glaciology from APECS Webinars on Vimeo.

  Session Chairs:
  Allen Pope – University of Cambridge, UK
  Oliver Marsh – University of Canterbury, New Zealand

  Presentations:

  The Past (and Future) Loss of the 
West Antarctic Ice Sheet
  --- Richard Alley, Pennsylvania State University, USA

  Glacier Contributions to Sea-Level: Arctic Canada Awakes
  --- Martin Sharp, University of Alberta, Canada and Chair, International Arctic Science Committee Cryosphere Working Group

  Origin of Surface undulations at the Kamb Stream Grounding Line, West Antarctica
  --- Fiona Seifert, Portland State University, USA


  Mass Balance in the Grounding Zone of the Beardmore Glacier, Antarctica Based on Satellite and Ground Based Remote Sensing Measurements
  --- Oliver Marsh, University of Canterbury, New Zealand


  Ice Shelf Basal Mass Balance from Borehole Thermometry
  --- Tore Hatterman, Norwegian Polar Institute, Norway

Larger standalone version available here, and you can download an .exe file for offline use here. The animation is also available en Français online, for Windows offline, or for Mac offline, as well as in Deutsch online, Windows offline, or Mac offline.

Do you want more information about Glaciology? Here are some links and information about a few of the important organizations, listservs and journals in the glaciology world.

• Glaciology Organizations

  International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS)

  International Glaciological Society (IGS)

  National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)

  World Glacier Monitor Service (WGMS) 

  Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS)

  Glaciers, Climate and Society

  Glacierchange.org

• Glaciology Listservs

  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - An email forum for friendly discussion with other early-career glaciologists about any topic related to glaciology without the worry of spamming thousands of people.

  Cryolist mailing list - A useful listserv for announcements and comments about current topics in glaciology 

• Journals of Interest

  Journal of Glaciology

  Annals of Glaciology

  The Cryosphere

  Nature Geoscience

  Geophysical Research Letters

  Journal of Geophysical Research

  Also check out ISI Web of Knowledge for a searchable database of peer-reviewed scientific journal articles

Looking for advice on research ideas or career paths? Find a mentor!

APECS mentors in Glaciology include:

• Nick Rutter (Senior Lecturer, Northumbria University, UK)
• Gareth Rees (University Senior Lecturer, SPRI, UK)
• Robin Bell (Senior Research Scientist, LDEO, USA)
• Robert Bindschadler (Senior Fellow, GSFC, USA)
• Shulamit Gordon (Antarctica New Zealand)
• Liz Morris (Glaciologist, SPRI, UK)

For more information and contact information for these and other mentors, visit the mentor database.