We use seismic refraction data to investigate the firn structure across a suture zone on the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, and the possible role of glacier dynamics in firn evolution. In the downstream direction, the data reveal decreasing compressional-wave velocities and increasing penetration depth of the propagating wave in the firn layer, consistent with $\sim$1 m firn thickening every 6 km. The boundary between the Lambert Glacier unit to the west and a major suture zone and the Mawson Escarpment Ice Stream unit to the east, is marked by differences in firn thicknesses, compressional-wave velocities and seismic anisotropy in the across-flow direction. The latter does not contradict the presence of a single-maximum crystal orientation fabric oriented 45–$90^{\circ }$ away from the flow direction. This is consistent with the presence of transverse simple shear governing the region's underlying ice flow regime, in association with elevated strain along the suture zone. The confirmation and quantification of the implied dynamic coupling between firn and the underlying ice requires integration of future seismic refraction, coring and modelling studies. Because firn is estimated to cover $\sim$98% of the Antarctic continent any such coupling may have widespread relevance to ice-sheet evolution and flow.

Closely spaced measurements of diameter of thermally drilled bore holes reveal a pattern of small variations. These patterns serve to igerntify points on the bore-hole wall; thus the change in length of sections of bore hole can be gertermined as a function of time. This method has been used to measure vertical strain-rate as a function of gerpth in two bore holes near the crest of the Devon Island ice cap. The measured strain-rate, corrected for firn compaction, varies significantly with gerpth. The vertical component of velocity at the surface was gertermined freom the contraction rate of a bore hole that penetrated to the base of the ice. Comparison of this velocity with the present accumulation rate suggests that the ice cap, in the vicinity of the bore hole, is thickening slightly at present. The age of the ice at various gerpths, as calculated freom the measured vertical velocities, is in broad agreement with radio-carbon dates covering the past 6 000 years. This suggests that the flow of the ice cap has not varied significantly over this period, and thus that the present accumulation rate, which is causing thickening, is slightly above the average for the period.

Ice-thickness measurements critical for flood and mudflow hazard studies are very sparse on Cascade Range (North America) volcanoes. Helicopter electromagnetic (HEM) data collected to detect hydrothermal alteration are used to determine ice thickness over portions of Mount Baker and Mount Adams volcanoes. A laterally continuous inversion method provides good estimates of ice <100 m thick over water-saturated and altered regions where the resistivity of the basement is <200 Ωm. For areas with ice overlying fresh, resistive rocks with small resistivity contrasts between ice and rock, ice thickness is not well resolved. The ice thicknesses derived from HEM data are consistent with the previous drillhole data from Mount Adams and radar data from both volcanoes, with mean thicknesses of 57 m for Mount Adams and 68 m for Mount Baker. The thickest ice on Mount Baker rests on the gentle lower slopes whereas the thickest ice at Mount Adams lies on the flat summit. Ice volume calculations suggest that Mount Baker contains ∽710 × 106 m3 of ice in the HEM survey area, with a crude estimate of ∽1800 × 106m3 for the entire volcano. Ice volume on Mount Adams is 65 × 106m3 in parts of the HEM survey area and ∽200 × 106m3 overall.

Unusual seismic signals with weak P phases and well-developed monochromatic shear-wave trains have been recorded and their sources located near College Fiord, Alaska. Epicentral determinations show that they originate on or near glaciers. Some of the events have equivalent earthquake magnitudes of 2.0 to 2.5. These energy sources seem to be compatible with spasmodic glacier movement. Smaller events occur often—as many as 60 per day.

Radio-echo data have yielded information on the dynamics of the Ross Ice Shelf. Distinctive features present on the radio-echo records have been used to delineate several flow lines on the ice shelf. Measurement of the power returned from the ice-water interface has revealed regional variations in the r.f. dielectric loss of Ross Ice Shelf ice. These variations are used to indicate zones of bottom melting and freezing.

To study subglacial hydrological condition and its influence on the glacier dynamics, we drilled Johnsons Glacier on Livingston Island in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Subglacial water pressure was recorded in boreholes at two locations over 2 years, accompanied by high-frequency ice-speed measurements during two summer melt seasons. Water pressure showed two different regimes, namely high frequency and large amplitude variations during the melt season (January–April) and small fluctuations near the overburden pressure the rest of the year. Speed-up events were observed several times in each summer measurement period. Ice motion during these events substantially contributed to total glacier motion, for example, fast ice flow over 1 week accounted for ~70% of the total displacement over a 25-day long measurement period. We did not find a clear relationship between subglacial water pressure and ice speed. This was probably because subglacial hydraulic conditions were spatially inhomogeneous and thus our borehole data did not always represent a large-scale subglacial condition. Ice temperature measurements in the boreholes confirmed the existence of a cold ice layer near the glacier surface. Our data provide a basis to better understand the dynamic and hydrological conditions of relatively unstudied glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula region.

To study near-surface heat flow on the Antarctíc ice sheet, snow temperatures were measured at South Pole Station to a depth of 3 m at 15 min intervals during most of 1992. Solar heating and water-vapor transport were negligible during the 6 month Winter, as was inter-grain net thermal radiation, leaving conduction as the dominant heat-transport mechanism. The rate of temperature change at depth over 15 min intervals was smaller than that at the surface, by one order of magnitude at 20 cm depth and two orders of magnitude at 1 m depth. A finite-difference model, with conduction as the only heat-transfer mechanism and measured temperatures as the upper and lower boundary conditions, was applied to foursets of three thermistors each. The thermal conductivity was estimated as that which minimized the difference between modeled and measured 15 min changes in temperatures at the center thermistor. The thermal conductivity obtained at shallow depths (above 40 cm) was lower than that given by existing parameterizations based on density, probably because the snow grains were freshly deposited, cold and poorly bonded. A model using only vertical conduction explains on average 87% ofthe observed 15 min temperature changes at less than 60 cm depth and 92% below 60 cm. The difference between modeled andmeasured temperature changes decreased with depth. The discrepancies between model and observation correlated more strongly with the air-snow temperature difference than with the product of that difference with the square of the wind speed,suggesting that the residual errors are due more to non-vertical conduction and to sub-grid-scale variabilis of the conductivity than to windpumping. The residual heating rate not explained by the model of vertical conduction exceeds 0.2 W m−3 only in the top 60 cm of the near-surface snow.

Surface energy-balance models are commonly used in conjunction with satellite thermal imagery to estimate supraglacial debris thickness. Removing the need for local meteorological data in the debris thickness estimation workflow could improve the versatility and spatiotemporal application of debris thickness estimation. We evaluate the use of regional reanalysis data to derive debris thickness for two mountain glaciers using a surface energy-balance model. Results forced using ERA-5 agree with AWS-derived estimates to within 0.01 ± 0.05 m for Miage Glacier, Italy, and 0.01 ± 0.02 m for Khumbu Glacier, Nepal. ERA-5 data were then used to estimate spatiotemporal changes in debris thickness over a ~20-year period for Miage Glacier, Khumbu Glacier and Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland. We observe significant increases in debris thickness at the terminus for Haut Glacier d'Arolla and at the margins of the expanding debris cover at all glaciers. While simulated debris thickness was underestimated compared to point measurements in areas of thick debris, our approach can reconstruct glacier-scale debris thickness distribution and its temporal evolution over multiple decades. We find significant changes in debris thickness over areas of thin debris, areas susceptible to high ablation rates, where current knowledge of debris evolution is limited.

To clear up the changes which had happened at the subglacial catchment of glacier d’Argentière, an extensive study, with 31 borings and a coring down to the bottom (240 m) was performed in 1979/80, just upstream from the catchment, in an overdeepened area. The behaviour of the water level during boring with a hot water jet, and just after, was different from one bore hole to another, mainly because transient leaks appeared in the walls of bore holes. Next, the water level fluctuated slowly, in the same way in most of the deep bore holes, showing that glacier ice below about 100 m deep is slightly pervious. What is so measured is the pore pressure of water in deep ice. The piezometric gradient between bore holes, and the time lag between fluctuations of water level, which increases with distance from the right bank, shows that there is no waterway at the bottom of the overdeepened area, save at its up-stream end. Most of the melt water must flow between ice and rock along the right bank, its free surface rising by about 150 m during the increased discharge in June. No clear-cut correlation between the bottom pore pressure and the air temperature or the discharge at the subglacial catchment down-stream was found.

Complex glacier motion in the Grove Mountains region, Antarctica, is measured using four-pass differential synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry (InSAR). The components of the motion vector field are resolved using a 44 day-separation Japanese Earth Resources Satellite-1 (JERS-1) InSAR pair and a European Remote-sensing Satellite-1/-2 (ERS-1/-2) tandem InSAR pair. The 44 day temporal baseline provides the sensitivity required to observe the range of ice motion (around 8–10ma–1), and the 1 day short baseline provides the best choice for glacier digital elevation model reconstruction. It is remarkable that the scattering field of the JERS-1 pair remained coherent over the long time interval and the interferometric fringes are clear. The overall ice flow is from east to west, downslope and towards Lambert Glacier. The regional flow is obstructed by nunataks extending north–south, with two wide gaps. Two narrow glaciers flow past the nunataks and rejoin each other at the downstream end. Regional morphology, and the resolved flow in the Grove Mountains area, suggests that ice flow is channeled throughout this eastern flank of Lambert Glacier.

A four-man party representing the Arctic Institute of North America and the Department of Geology, Dartmouth College, went to the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf in 1960 to obtain ice cores for subsequent laboratory analysis. The overall objective of the project was to study the structural and stratigraphic history of the shelf and its relationship to the environment through laboratory analysis of the cores, using stratigraphic. petrologic, chemical, and physical methods.

The four cores obtained were logged, packed, and shipped to Dartmouth College for detailed study. The stratigraphy and structure of the ice were studied under natural and plane polarized light conditions. The results of this initial work showed that the cores were composed of four ice types: glacier ice, lake ice, sea ice, and transition ice. Chlorinity, sulfate, and density profiles complemented megascopic studies and were most useful criteria for plotting stratigraphie changes in ice type.

Results of the investigations thus far have yielded new information about the gross structure and stratigraphy of the ice shelf and re-entrant. They have also shown that the physical and chemical techniques employed will be useful in future ice-core analysis.

Several theories exist on the origin of kettle-holes in pro-glacial outwash deposits. The most widely accepted origin involves the melting of buried ice. The author carried out some experiments in which ice blocks were placed on or in outwash sediments in a tank in order to determine which mechanisms of ice melt would be most likely to give rise to kettle-hole features. The largest kettle-holes were produced by the melting of buried ice blocks; smaller transient depressions were formed from ice blocks melting in streams of flowing water; while, rather than depressions, ridges resembling pingos and moraines were created by ice blocks melting on a dry or saturated gravel surface.

The prediction of run-up and run-out of dry-flowing avalanches is very important for land-use planning, design of run-out zone defenses and construction of risk maps in avalanche terrain. In this paper, we present a numerical dynamics model to predict the stop position of the tip of these avalanches when friction coefficients (internal and external), initial flow depth and incoming speed are specified for known path geometry in the run-out zone. We also compare our model to that in the Swiss guidelines and to field examples. The results of these calculations clearly define model differences and the implications of different choices of friction coefficients.

We use the invariant Γ integral of fracture mechanics to calculate the frontal pressure and resistance to the downward motion a of snow avalanche. A basic characteristic property of the snowpack, termed the entrainment toughness, is introduced. From an analysis of the non-entrainment frictional mechanisms of avalanches, we find the necessary condition for a fracture-entrainment regime, and from an analysis of limiting equilibrium of gravitational force and frontal resistance, the necessary condition equation for the start of avalanches. We then derive the governing equations for the dynamics of avalanches, using a point-mass approach with entrainment taken into account. The governing equations are used to numerically simulate the Vallée de la Sionne (Switzerland) avalanche of 7 February 2003.

During the Swedish Antarctic Expedition to Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, 1988–89 the net accumulation was estimated for an area from the coast to about 400 km inland. Stake measurements were used to obtain the spatial variability and firn cores were used for the temporal variability. The mean annual accumulation for the period 1976–88 is about 0.4mw.e. for Riiser-Larsenisen and about 0.3mw.e. for the area above the grounding line. The accumulation rate at higher altitudes, > 2500 m a.s.1., is about 0.1 m w.e. for 1955–88. One record from the ice shelf covers the period 1957–88, and suggests an increase in accumulation of about 12%. Between 1976 and 1988, the accumulation has decreased by about 50%, most likely due to lower temperatures as suggested by the temperature record from Halley.

The accumulation of rime ice on structures, due to the impact and freezing of small water droplets, has been modelled as a stochastic process. Individual droplets are introduced into the flow field about the structure at a random position. Their trajectories are then calculated to determine the position of impact on the structure, or on previously impacted droplets. By assuming that the droplets maintain their shape on impact, the modelled accretion is gradually built up, one droplet at a time.

In the present paper, attention has been limited to a circular cylinder as the collecting structure, and it has been assumed that the flow field and the ice accumulation are strictly two-dimensional. With these assumptions, the influence of the droplet/cylinder diameter ratio and of the air speed upon the resulting predictions has been investigated. The main feature of interest in the model prediction is the development, near the edges of the accumulation, of discrete structures called “rime feathers”. The mechanism for the growth of these rime feathers is described, and a comparison is made between the characteristics of the predicted structures and of some natural rime feathers grown in an icing wind tunnel.

A total of eight floating glacier tongues have shrunk in area by >85% from the Yelverton Bay region of Northern Ellesmere Island since 1959, with unusually large losses since 2005. To better understand the causes of these losses, this study undertakes the first examination of ice tongue changes in this region, including an assessment of changes in surrounding marine ice (i.e. sea ice, sikussak and mélange), and atmospheric and oceanographic forcings. From 1959 to 2017, the total ice tongue area decreased by 49.07 km2, with the majority of this loss occurring from 2005 to 2009 (34.68 km2). The loss of ice tongues since 2005 occurred when open water replaced multi-year landfast sea ice (MLSI) and first-year sea ice in the regions adjacent to the ice tongues. These changes were accompanied by an increase in mean annual mid-depth (i.e. 100 and 200 m) ocean temperatures from −0.29°C from 1999 to 2005 to 0.67°C from 2006 to 2012. Despite the recent return of ocean temperatures to below pre-2006 levels, atmospheric summer temperatures have continued to rise (+0.15°C decade−1 between 1948 and 2016), with open water continuing to occur. Without the sustained presence of MLSI in this region the ice tongues are unable to stabilize, making it unlikely that they will re-form in the current climate.

Four coordinated reports on recent trends in glacial activity in the State of Washington, U.S.A., have been prepared by three authors and three of these appear in this issue of the Journal of Glaciology. The fourth report will appear in a later number. Other reports regarding the condition of glaciers in this state and in other regions of the western United States have appeared in various mountaineering journals. It is the purpose of this paper to serve as a reference to the bibliography in this field and show how the detailed story included in the companion papers is part of a widespread change in trend. Results reported by other observers are reviewed briefly. In addition, some data on observations by the author in the Sierra Nevada are included in order to compare the magnitude of the activity in California and Washington.

D.C. resistivity soundings have been carried out on Unteraargletscher at three places for comparison with earlier seismic reflection results. While in two cases a fair agreement was obtained, the third sounding indicated a strong inhomogeneity of the ice, making a reliable interpretation impossible. Using the seismic depths in the interpretation, more reliable values of ice resistivities were obtained. Additional apparent resistivities were measured on ice and firn on Grosser Aletschgietscher, which are discussed together with similar results from the literature. The resistivity values of temperate glaciers observed so far fall in the range from 25 to 120 MΩ.m. and are thus significantly higher than the experimentally determined ultimate value of 5 MΩ.m. reported for extremely pure ice at 0°C. by Eigen and others (1964). The necessary conditions fur successful resistivity soundings are discussed.

The works undertaken on the Glacier d’Argentière in order to divert the subglacial stream, have allowed access to several natural cavities which correspond to places where the glacier loses contact with its rock bed. These cavities show a certain number of original phenomena both on the rock bed and also on the ice arch. Studies of the basal ice layer reveal peculiar characteristics which distinguish it from the rest of the ice mass: lamination, interstratification of ice containing sand with pure ice, crystallographic composition, and specific chemical composition.

The sliding speeds of the glacier are variable, and an increase in the friction below these cavitations is at the origin of a form of regressive glacial cavitation. The subglacial cavities are grouped together in a network transverse to the direction of glacier flow; they are interconnected by channels which are more or less open which allow proper thermal exchanges to be established and favour sliding.