Fundamentals of Glacier Dynamics

About this book

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (2007) acknowledged that current ice sheet models do not adequately treat the dynamic response of ice sheets to climate change. This second edition addresses these issues through the addition of new chapters covering glacier instabilities, the interpretation of observations, and ice sheets and sea level. Another new chapter covers glacier mass balance. The text also provides the necessary background and theoretical foundation for developing more realistic ice sheet models, which is essential for better integration of data and observations as well as for better model development.

Contents

- Why Study Glaciers and Ice Sheets?
- Ice Deformation
- Mechanics of Glacier Flow
- Basal Sliding
- Modelling Glacier Flow
- Equilibrium Profiles of Glaciers
- Glacier Thermodynamics
- Glacier Mass Balance
- Numerical Ice-Sheet Models
- Large-Scale Dynamics of Ice Sheets
- Glacier Instabilities
- Interpreting Observations
- Ice Sheets and Sea Level

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Biography

C.J. van der Veen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, University of Kansas.