The old problem of erosion by temperate glaciers is reviewed. We restrict ourselves to a monolithologic erosion of hard beds where chemical weathering is almost negligible. Rock fracture, either subglacial or otherwise, may have occurred during a previous cold episode, allowing long-lasting quarrying by the temperate glacier, but, once all the loosened material had been dragged away, grooving becomes the main erosional process. The theory of locally stress-controlled temperatures leads to the idea that very small particles found in the bottom ice cannot reach the bed. Therefore, abrasion and polishing come from rock chips due to grooving or sand grains freed by suglacial chemical weathering. In the steady regime, clasts that are able to groove come from the surrounding rock walls. Most of them do not enter the bergschrund, but are embedded in a bottom layer, which melts progressively over several kilometres. After being in contact with the bed over some distance, they are sufficiently blunted to become unable to groove. This distance. λ, increases with the boulder size, and the largest ones are not yet worn out at the glacier terminus. The mechanics of grooving is roughly modelled to estimate, for any stone size, the grooved volume per unit time and the grooving distance λ. From these estimations, and the size distribution, the erosion rate without quarrying as a function of the distance from the head wall, is calculated. It goes through a maximum when all the debris-laden bottom layer has just melted, and thus an overdeepening might form in a steady way. However, two unknown parameters enter the theory the probability ∏ for a stone able to groove which is in contact with the bed to groove and the ratio k of the volume of grooved rock before the stone is worn out to the volume of the stone. Experiments that may allow us to determine them are indicated below.

Crack propagation in saline ice (a model sea ice) is investigated in this study in an attempt to understand the processes of crack growth at one loading rate and two temperatures. As has been previously observed in cold sea ice and warm or cold fresh-water ice, crack growth occurs in initiation/arrest increments. The energetic stability criteria of crack growth are examined in saline ice and crack growth is characterized in terms of the fracture-resistance parameter KR . This paper offers the development of a new fracture geometry capable of sustained stable crack growth and the presentation of fracture-resistance curves for saline ice at −25° and −15 C. The important findings of this paper are that: (i) in warm saline ice, extensive local crack-tip damage is accompanied by a limited amount of slow, stable crack extension; (n) fracture in cold saline ice is characterized by locally negative KR behavior; and (iii) fracture in cold or warm saline ice is characterized by globally positive KR curve behavior.

The extent and duration of surface melting on the Antarctic ice shelves and margins of the Antarctic ice sheet are derived from satellite passive-microwave data for 1978–87. The occurrence of surface melting in daily maps of Tb is indicated by a marked increase in microwave brightness temperature (Tb), which is caused by moisture in the near-surface firn. Tb increases of more than 30 deg above the annual-mean Tb are chosen to indicate melting. Most Antarctic surface melting occurs during December and January. The observed melting is correlated with regional air temperatures, but some melt patterns also appear to be related to katabatic-wind effects. The correlations suggest that the surface melting in Antarctica increases about 3.5 × 106 d km2 per degree of summer temperature increase. The surface-melt index (duration times area of melting) calculated for Antarctica is 24 × 106 d km2, averaged over nine summers. The observed inter-annual and regional variability is large. Surface melting was most extensive during the 1982/83 summer (36 × 106 d km2) and least extensive during the 1985/86 summer (15 × 106d km2). The data indicate a decline in surface melting over the 9 years, but meaningful inferences regarding trends in surface melting are precluded by the large inter-annual variability.

Firn-density variations have been studied in the lower accumulation area of the Greenland ice sheet (1440-1620 m a.s.l.) near Pâkitsoq, West Greenland. The main control on density in the near-surface firn layer (of 5-10 m thickness) is the formation of ice layers by the refreezing of meltwater that reaches depths of 2-4 m below the surface. The density variations are described by the ratio of annual surface melt M to the annual accumulation C. The ratio M/C is about 0.6 at the run-off limit (at about 1400 m a.s.l. in the study area) where refreezing of meltwater transforms snow into impermeable ice. The mean density of near-surface firn decreases with elevation, reflecting a decrease in melt with elevation. There is a surprising decrease in firn density at depths of more than about 4 m below the 1991 summer surface, which reflects lower melt rates and/or higher accumulation in the early 1980s and late 1970s when this firn was passing through the surface layer. The formation of such low-density firn may have partially contributed to the 1978-85 thickening of the ice sheet observed by satellite-radar altimetry. Near-surface firn density is therefore very sensitive to climate change and might be an attractive target for climate monitoring.

Results of a detailed topographic survey of Ghiacciaio del Calderone, Italy, the southernmost in Europe, are described and compared with those of surveys made in earlier years. Recession and thinning, much affected by micro-climate, have been the predominant state of health during the 20th century. Between 1916 and 1990, volume is estimated to have been reduced by about 90% and area by about 68%.

c-axis fabrics of the GISP2 ice core from central Greenland have been measured rapidly and accurately in the field, using both compressional and shear waves generated by an inexpensive, commercially available, “idiot-proof” device. Compressional-wave data were collected at 10 m intervals for the upper 2250 m of the ice sheet and show progressive clustering of c axes toward the vertical with increasing depth but no large steps at climatic boundaries in the core. The degree of clustering measured by ultrasound agrees closely with that measured using traditional optical techniques but the ultrasound technique is easier and faster than optical methods. A slight asymmetry in the c-axis clustering is revealed by the shear-wave data and increases with increasing depth, indicating that deformation is not symmetric about the vertical at the site.

The shear strength of deforming till beneath Storglaciären, Sweden, was continuously measured with a new instrument, a “dragometer”. A cylinder with conical ends, roughened with till from the glacier bed, was dragged through the till, and the force on the cylinder was recorded. Consistent with studies of cone penetration in soils, it was assumed that the till behaves as a Coulomb plastic material. This allows the residual strength of the till to be calculated from the measured force. Results from laboratory experiments confirm the validity of the analytical procedure.

The average residual strength of the till was ∼55 kPa. A source of error is the potential generation of pore pressure in excess of hydrostatic ahead of the cylinder, which could significantly weaken the till. Calculations indicate that excess pore pressure did not develop during the experiment, but could develop during similar experiments beneath rapidly sliding glaciers with less permeable basal till layers.

We describe a new laser-light-scattering instrument for measuring variations in dust concentration along polar ice cores. We have used this instrument with considerable success on the GISP2 ice core from central Greenland. Reproducibility is excellent and the required ice-sample size is relatively small. When combined with visual stratigraphy and ECM, the distinct annual spring/ summer dust peaks we observe can be used to date the core with tree-ring-like precision.

To study the dynamics of ice sheets and glaciers, velocities at the bed of a glacier must be measured directly or calculated using data gathered from boreholes and surface surveys. Boreholes to the bed are expensive and time-consuming to drill, so the determination of basal velocity is almost exclusively by numerical inversion of velocities observed at the surface. For non-linearly viscous glaciers, a perturbation analysis demonstrates that inversions for englacial velocities will magnify measurement errors at an exponential rate with depth. The rate at which calculation errors grow is proportional to a Lyapunov exponent, a measure of “information loss” which is shown to be a simple linear function of spatial frequency with a coefficient depending on Glen’s flow-law exponent, n. The coefficient decreases with increasing non-linearity, demonstrating that inversions with non-linearly viscous ice have smaller calculation errors than inversions with linearly viscous ice. In both the linear and nonlinear cases, the Lyapunov exponent (and rate of error growth) increases with decreasing wavelength, which limits velocity calculations at the bed to wavelengths on the order of one ice thickness or greater. This limitation is theoretical and cannot be countered by more accurate survey data or special numerical techniques.

A remotely sensed method of assessing radiative-transfer processes which considers distinctive zones in the mountain-glacier drainage basin, increases the potential for comprehensive radiative-exchange analysis. By investigating terrain-reflected and terrain-emitted radiation using Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper images and digital elevation data, the objective of this study is to demonstrate the importance of local exchange in the computation of net shortwave and longwave radiation. The results show that terrain-reflected radiation estimates are required to calculate the total shortwave spectral irradiance in all parts of the basin This is necessary to compute accurate surface-cover reflectance and albedo values from the satellite imagery. Furthermore, the assessment of the terrain-emitted radiation explains why, especially on a clear day, the snow and ice covers in many parts of the basin have a very small longwave radiation deficit.

A transverse profile of velocity was measured across Ice Stream B, West Antarctica, in order to determine the role of the margins in the force balance of an active ice stream. The profile extended from near the ice-stream center line, through a marginal shear zone and on to the slow-moving ice sheet. The velocity profile exhibits a high degree of shear deformation within a marginal zone, where intense, chaotic crevassing occurs. Detailed analysis of the profile, using analytical and numerical models of ice flow, leads to the following conclusions regarding the roles of the bed and the margins in ice-stream dynamics:

• (i) The overall resistive drag on the ice stream is partitioned nearly equally between the margins and the bed and, thus, both are important in the force balance of the ice stream.

• (ii) The ice within the chaotic zone must be about 10 times softer than the ice in the central part of the ice stream.

• (iii) The average basal shear stress is 0.06 × 105 Pa. This implies that the entire bed cannot be blanketed by the weak, deformable till observed by Engelhardt and others (1990) near the center of the ice stream — there must be regions of increased basal drag.

• (iv) High strain rates and shear stresses in the marginal zones indicate that strain heating in the margins may be significant.

While the exact quantitative values leading to these conclusions are somewhat model and location-dependent, the overall conclusions are robust. As such, they are likely to have importance for ice-stream dynamics in general.

Outlet streams of Variegated Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., were observed before, during and after the surge of 1982–83. Measurements of discharge, suspended sediment and dissolved load in the outlet streams are presented for the years 1982–84, and comparisons are made with data from previous years. The data are interpreted to yield characteristics of the basal hydraulic system. The surging region of the glacier was underlain by a basal hydraulic zone of low water velocity and high water storage, inferred to be a distributed-flow system. The ice down-glacier of the propagating surge front was underlain by a high-velocity, low-storage zone, inferred to be a conduit system. The volume of water stored above the surge front was the major hydraulic control on the surge. Basal bedrock erosion during the surge was extreme in comparison to non-surging glaciers. The sediment output was directly proportional to the basal sliding, with a dimensionless erosion rate (meters eroded from the bed divided by meters of sliding) of order 1.0 × 10−4. Total erosion during the 20 year surge cycle was on the order of 0.3 m of bedrock, with approximately two-thirds occurring during the 2 years of the surge peak, and the bulk of this during the peak 2 months.

The tectonic effects of a glacier surge differ from those of steady state because flow is driven by longitudinal stresses rather than shear stresses. The orientations of recently formed crevasses, indicating the directions of the principal stresses, have been used to investigate tectonic processes in glacier surges recorded by repeat aerial photography. Long-term, large-magnitude shifts in stress regime are demonstrated, as are short-term propagation features. Two types of tide-water glacier advance are identified, depending on the position of the surge front relative to a low effective-pressure zone at the glacier terminus.

The highest, nearly stationary crevasse that occurs on most alpine glaciers is commonly called a bergschrund. It has often been believed to form when the main ice body below slides downward and thus separates from the thin, steep ice above, which is supposed to remain frozen to its bed. In order to verify or refute this assumption, temperatures and ice motion were recorded at several points in and around a bergschrund on Daunferner, a glacier in the Stubai Alps in Tyrol, Austria. Both measurements and observations indicated that the ice above the bergschrund was sliding as well and that the crevasse formed at a place where ice thickness, deformation and sliding velocity were markedly increasing.

At the same time a randkluft, i.e. a deep crevasse between the headwall and the glacier, was observed to open, clearly the result of ice flow and not due to melting as previously believed.

Experiments have shown that tensile ductility of about 5% or more can be imparted to columnar, saline ice by pre-compressing the material by about 3.5%. This effect is similar to that observed in granular, fresh-water ice and is attributed to the operation of both dislocation creep and diffusion creep within that part of the matrix which recrystallized during the pre-compressive deformation.

A model for the calculation of two-dimensional temperature fields is described and applied along the central flowline of Jakobshavns Isbræ, West Greenland, and along a flowline through the adjacent ice sheet. The model calculates the velocity-depth distribution based on Glen’s flow law and subject to the condition that the calculated velocities agree with the measured surface velocity and the estimated sliding velocity. The model allows for two-dimensional conduction and advection, for deformational energy dissipation and for the development of a basal layer of temperate ice. The results of modeling are compared to the englacial temperatures measured in boreholes reaching a depth of 1550 m which corresponds to 60% of the total depth at the center line. While there is a good agreement of the measured and modeled minimum temperatures, the shape of the temperature—depth profiles is quite different. We attribute this difference in shape to a characteristic three-dimensional ice deformation taking place in the convergent sub-surface channel of the actual ice stream. The model does not account for this three-dimensional effect. Adjustment of the modeled central temperature profile, so that its shape matches that of the measured profile, leads to an increase of thickness of the temperate basal layer by about 30%. Hence, the predicted temperate basal layer in the ice stream is likely to be about 300 m thick while the two-dimensional model suggests about 230 m. Such a thickening of the temperate basal layer by three-dimensional ice deformation may be an important mechanism of fast ice-stream flow.

A hybrid analytical and random-walk model has been developed to predict the shape of ice accreted on a horizontal cylindrical insulator due to freezing rain. The freezing rain occurs with the temperature of the vertically falling raindrops above the freezing point and the air temperature below freezing. The analytical model calculates the angular distribution of the water-film temperature and the location where freezing begins. The random-walk model predicts the accretion shape. The two random-walk model parameters, the freezing probability and the shedding parameter, are expressed as functions of the atmospheric conditions. The model predicts a variety of realistic accretion shapes from cylindrical to icicle-like. Model verification based on comparisons with other models and with experimental results demonstrates quantitatively and qualitatively the credibility of this new modelling approach.

Sliding at the base of Trapridge Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada, was measured using a “drag spool”. We describe this simple and inexpensive instrument as well as its installation and operation. From 1990 to 1992 seven sites were instrumented with drag spools. At six of the sites basal sliding, during the period of observation, accounted for 50-70% of the total flow observed at the glacier surface. The contribution from ice creep is known to be small, so most of the remaining surface motion must be attributed to subglacial sediment deformation. For the seventh site the observed sliding rate was ~ 90% of the total flow, an indication that the sliding contribution varies spatially across the bed. Diurnal variations in the response of one of our instruments appear to be correlated to subglacial water-pressure fluctuations and are interpreted in terms of changes in sliding velocity rather than the opening and closing of basal cavities.