Women’s history in glaciology extends as far back in time as the discipline itself, although their contributions to the scientific discourse have for all of that history been constrained by the sociopolitical contexts of the times. The first Journal of Glaciology paper authored by a woman appeared in 1948, within a year of the founding of the Journal, but it was not until the 1980s that women produced more than a few percent of Journal and Annals of Glaciology papers. Here international perspectives on women’s participation in the sciences are presented in order to establish an economic and sociopolitical context for stories of women ‘pioneers’ in glaciology and a frame in which to discuss women’s persistent under-representation relative to men. We find that the experiences of individual glaciologists mirror women’s experiences in higher education and the sciences as a whole. The existence of both positive and negative trends in women’s participation in the sciences suggests caution in the interpretation of recent positive trends for women’s participation in glaciology.

Stratigraphic variations of oxygen isotopes in the snow which accumulates during the winter at the Norwegian glacier Austre Okstindbreen are not entirely eliminated after 1–2 months of ablation in the following summer. The relationship between regional temperature changes and δ18O values in the snowpack is affected by many natural factors, but 1989/90 winter air temperatures were reflected in the snow which remained on Austre Okstindbreen at 1350 m a.s.l. in July 1990. There were many variations of δ18O values in the 4.1m of snow above the 1989 summer surface, but variations in the underlying firn were relatively small. Meltwater percolation modifies the initial variations of δ18O values in the snowpack. At a site below the mean equilibrium-line altitude on Austre Okstindbreen, increased isotopic homogenization within a 10 day period in July accompanied an increase of the mean δ18O value. Although the isotopic record at a temperate glacier is likely to be influenced by more factors than is that at polar glaciers, it can provide an estimate of the approximate trend of local temperature variations.

In the simulation of skiing the force between ski and snow is a decisive factor. We decompose the reaction force into a penetration force normal to the snow surface, a shear force and friction. Two portable measurement devices were developed to study the penetration and shear forces for compacted snow on groomed ski slopes. The penetration force was assessed by measuring the penetration depth of a ski-tool loaded normal to the snow surface. For the shear force the tangential load was measured when the snow began to fail. Overall 236 penetration and 108 shear experiments were conducted on different types of snow. The penetration force was proportional to the volume of snow displaced by the ski-tool. The failure shear force was proportional to the penetration depth multiplied by the length of the tool. The constants of proportionality, HV and Sf, are material parameters of snow. The snow hardness, HV, varied between 0.04 and 90 N mm–3 and the failure shear stress, Sf, between 0.04 and 0.40 N mm–2. In another investigation, skiing turns were simulated using the presented snow reaction forces. Maximum deviations between computed and real trajectories were <1 % of the overall length of the runs.

Gornergletscher, Switzerland, is located adjacent to the marginal lake Gornersee, which periodically drains. We measured glacier ice-flow velocities during two drainage events of the lake, in 2004 and 2006. The common feature of these events was that, during both, Gornersee filled to its maximum level and then overflowed. The events differed in that in 2004 Gornersee rapidly drained via a sudden subglacial connection, whereas in 2006 the lake water continued to overflow and slowly discharged into a nearby moulin. We analysed the changes in ice-flow velocities in the vicinity of Gornersee during the two drainage events, using a three-dimensional ice-flow model which is able to (1) simulate locally variable enhanced basal motion of the ice and (2) account for the load and release of water pressure exerted on the ice margin. We demonstrate that the key features of the observed flow changes can be reproduced adequately in the numerical model by considering these two effects as the main mechanisms. We interpret the 2006 flow changes to be dominated by the release of lake water pressure acting on the ice during the lake drainage. The 2004 ice-flow changes can be explained by enhanced basal motion, and the impact of the lake water pressure provides certain clues to some observations insufficiently explained by enhanced basal motion.

Microorganisms are the most abundant organisms on Earth, and microbial abundance records preserved in ice cores have been connected to records of environmental change. As an alternative to high resolution abundance records, which can be difficult to recover, we used culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to examine bacteria in glacier ice from the Tibetan Plateau (TP). We recovered a total of 887 bacterial isolates from ice cores of up to 164 m in depth retrieved from seven glaciers, located across the TP. These isolates were related to 53 genera in the Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria, with 13 major genera accounting for 78% of isolates. Most of the genera were common across the geographic region covered by our sampling, but there were differences in the genera recovered from different depths in the ice, with the deepest portions of the ice cores dominated by a single genus (Sporosarcina). Because microorganisms deposited on glaciers must survive atmospheric transport under a range of temperatures, temperature tolerance should be an important survival mechanism. We tested isolate growth across a range of temperatures (0–35 °C), and found psychrotolerance to be common. Together, our results show that ice depth, and by extension age, are characterized by different types of microorganisms, providing new information about microbial records in ice.

The relation between the local effective pressure and shear stress on till beneath Storglaciären, Sweden, discussed in Iverson and others (1999), provides an empirical basis for studying the processes that control the strength of the ice/bed coupling. Particles in the bed that protrude into the glacier sole support shear stresses that are limited by either ploughing or the traditional sliding mechanisms. Model calculations, based on studies of cone penetration through fine-grained sediment and sliding theory, agree with the observed relation between shear stress and effective pressure if the water layer at the ice/bed interface is assumed to thicken rapidly as the effective pressure approaches zero. Studies of the hydraulics of linked cavities provide support for this assumption, if the mean thickness of the water layer reflects the extent of microcavity development at the interface. Comparison of the calculated shear stress with the ultimate strength of till suggests that bed deformation limits the shear stress on till beneath Storglaciären only at intermediate effective pressures; at very low effective pressures, like those inferred at the site of the tiltmeter discussed in Iverson and others (1999), and at sufficiently high effective pressures, ploughing and sliding should focus motion near the glacier sole. A calculation using parameter values appropriate for Ice Stream B, West Antarctica, suggests that ploughing may occur there at shear stresses not sufficient to deform the bed at depth. This conclusion is reinforced by the likelihood that pore pressures in excess of hydrostatic should develop down-glacier from ploughing particles, thereby weakening the bed near the glacier sole. However, given the apparent sensitivity of the ice/bed coupling to basal conditions that may be highly variable, any blanket assumption regarding the flow mechanism of ice masses on soft beds should probably be viewed with skepticism.

The firn field on the volcano Popocatépetl is most extensive, lowest in altitude (4573 m.) and thickest (40 m.) on the northwest side of the cone. An expansion of the firn field on this side in the form of two small glaciers, one with miniature lateral moraines, has appeared since 1945 and still persists. Crevasses in the firn appear, widen, progress downslope and disappear, with new ones replacing them from above. Accumulation of snow from November through January and also from June through September exceeds ablation, and permits development of the firn field with expected seasonal and annual marginal fluctuations. A recession of 100 m. in altitude of the firn field from 1906 to 1920 is indicated by photographic studies and by field evidence.

A problem in mapping the polar sea-ice covers in both hemispheres has been the sporadic false indication of sea ice over the open ocean and at the ice edge. These spurious sea-ice concentrations result from variations in sea-surface roughening by surface winds, atmospheric water vapor and both precipitating and non-precipitating liquid water. This problem was addressed for sea-ice concentrations derived from the Nimbus-7 scanning multi-channel microwave radiometer (SMMR) data through the development of a weather filter based on spectral information from the 18.0 and 37.0 GHz vertical polarization SMMR channels. Application of a similar filter for use with sea-ice concentration maps derived with the special-sensor microwave imager (SSM/I) sensor is less successful. This results from the position of the 19.35 GHz SSM/I channels, which are closer to the center of the 22.2 GHz atmospheric water-vapor line than are the SMMR 18.0 GHz channels. Thus, the SSM/I 19.35 GHz channels are more sensitive to changes in atmospheric water vapor, which results in greater contamination problems. An additional filter has been developed, based on a combination of the 19.35 and 22.2GHz. SSM/I channels. Examples of the effectiveness of the new filter are presented and limitations are discussed.

In the approximately so m. thick ice cap of the Jungfraujoch (3470 m. above sea level), where the temperature throughout lies below the pressure melting point, continual measurements of displacement and deformation were carried out inside ice tunnels from 1950 onwards. These give an insight into the process of movement, the formation of water-filled crevasses and the relationships of viscosity in a cold ice cap glacier.

The plastic behaviour of the cold ice was examined through alterations in length of individual tunnels, and also through measured distortions of cross-section in circular sections of tunnel. Since the mean ice temperature in the region of the ice tunnel lies approximately between −1° and −3° C., these examinations provide a welcome supplement to analogous measurements which were taken in circular tunnels in a temperate glacier (Z’Mutt tunnel). The approximate calculation of the plastic deformation of a circular tunnel was thus extended by the obvious transformation of solutions known from elasticity theory.

By means of a qualitative analysis of the state of stress of an ice cap, an attempt is made to account for the distortion and the formation of the cracks and crevasses which were observed. The occurrence of blue bands could be followed in statu nascendi. This paper serves as a primary orientation and publishes some initial results of the examinations which are to be continued and completed over a number of years. In addition to its potentialities for practical use, this study may be of interest in respect to the behaviour of cold glaciers of the Arctic and Antarctic. In a final section, therefore, some problems of the Greenland ice sheet are considered in the light of the preceding conclusions.

Four medial moraines on three glaciers in Jotunheimen, Norway, are described. The structure and debris characteristics of the moraines allow three debris-transport routes to be identified: (1) discrete concentrated longitudinal septa containing subglacially comminuted debris; (2) diffuse longitudinal septa containing passively englacially transported debris; and (3) supraglacially transported spreads containing rock-fall debris entrained below the firn line. Two of the moraines, occurring down-glacier of nunataks, are nourished by a combination of (1) and (3). The remaining two moraines are nourished solely by englacially transported rock-fall debris (2). Transport routes (1) and (2) represent two distinct types of longitudinal englacial debris septum. The contribution of debris from more than one glacial transport path to single medial moraines indicates the value of a flexible, process-based approach towards moraine classification, with emphasis on the dynamic links between basin morphology, glacial debris entrainment, and moraine characteristics.

Rapid dynamic changes of ocean-terminating outlet glaciers of the Greenland ice sheet are related to atmospheric and oceanic warming but the detailed link to external forcing is not well understood. Observations show high variability in dynamic changes and are mainly limited to the past three decades with dense satellite observations. Here we compile a long-term record of dynamic changes of Eqip Sermia Glacier, West Greenland. Starting in 1912, we combine historical measurements of terminus positions, ice-surface elevation and flow velocity together with more recent in-situ and remote-sensing observations. In the 20th century, the glacier underwent small variations in terminus position and flow speed. Between 2000 and 2003, the terminus retreated substantially, but stabilized thereafter. In 2009, the northern terminus lobe started to retreat very rapidly; the southern lobe collapsed in 2013. The present terminus position, which has retreated by 4 km since 1920, is unprecedented in the historical record. Flow velocities were relatively stable until 2010. The recent acceleration reached threefold velocities in 2014 and rapidly affected the whole terminus region up to 15 km inland. Comparison with forcings from the atmosphere and the ocean over the past century shows that no dominant cause can be identified, and that local effects of bed geometry modulate the glacier response.

Albedo variations are presented at two on-glacier sites in the semi-arid Andes, Chile, with >3 years of continuous measurements. Although <2 km apart and at similar elevations, the sites show significantly different albedo cycles. Whereas Toro 1 exhibits a clear seasonal cycle, Guanaco reveals a more complicated pattern, as exposed ice can occur in any month of the year. Daily albedo values are as low as 0.18 for debris-covered Toro 1, while minima are higher on Guanaco (0.38). A method is presented to discern cloud-free from cloudy conditions using measured incoming shortwave radiation only. A cloud climatology is provided showing very low cloudiness values. We see that effective cloud cover relates inversely to cloud occurrence (i.e. either more but thin or fewer but thick clouds). The cloud-free diurnal albedo cycle is pronounced, with lowest values around noon. Clouds increase albedo by 0.04 as a median hourly value, and 0.20 for the 95% quantile. There is a positive relationship between effective cloud cover and resulting albedo rise. Calculations as to whether the diurnal albedo cycle or the effect of clouds on albedo should be considered in energy-balance estimations show that the former is necessary whereas the latter can be neglected in the semi-arid Andes.

A hydrodynamic model of interface stability in a stratified fluid is reviewed. The model predicts that irregularities on the boundaries of a stiff layer, embedded in a soft matrix, are unstable in pure shearing flow, when compression is normal to the layer. Perturbations on such a layer can grow to form symmetric pinch-and-swell structures called boudins. The model predicts initial perturbation growth rates on the boundaries of an interglacial period ice layer. We find that, beneath an ice divide, irregularities on the Sangamon layer boundaries will not kinematically decay, as the layer thins. Finite-element modelling is used to determine the strain history of Sangamon ice beneath the divide at Summit, Greenland. That history suggests boundary irregularities have grown, relative to layer thickness, at least 26 fold over the past 90000 years. The result may be severe distortion or severing of the layer. Core holes penetrating the layer may recover anomalously thick or thin columns of ice resulting in erroneous environmental and climatic interpretations. Radio echo-sounding may be useful in searching for zones of boudinage, which should be avoided when coring. Initial perturbations might arise from mass-balance spatial variations or from transient flow fields.

Cohesive forces are added to the analysis of forces on sand and soil particles to show that fluid drag, alone, often cannot initiate movement of a snow surface. The impact force of saltating ice spheres, however, can easily provide the force to break cohesive bonds, according to these calculations. The argument suggests a balance between the distribution of bond strengths of exposed surface particles and the distribution of saltation trajectory heights.

Knowledge of debris-free and debris-covered glaciers is important for understanding the varying response of glaciers to climate change. Measurements at the debris-free Parlung No. 4 Glacier and the debris-covered 24 K Glacier in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau were carried out to compare the meteorology and surface energy fluxes and to understand the factors controlling the melting process. The meteorological comparisons displayed temporally synchronous fluctuations in air temperature, relative humidity and incoming longwave radiation (Lin), but notable differences in precipitation, incoming shortwave radiation (Sin) and wind speed. Under the prevailing regional precipitation and debris conditions, more Lin (42 W m−2) was supplied from warmer and more humid air and more Sin (58 W m−2) was absorbed at the 24 K Glacier. The relatively high energy supply led mainly to an increased energy output via turbulent heat fluxes and outgoing longwave radiation, rather than glacier melting beneath the thick debris. The sensitivity experiment showed that melt rates were sensitive to energy supply at debris thicknesses <~10 cm. In contrast, energy supply to the Parlung No. 4 Glacier mainly resulted in snow/ice melting, the magnitude of which was significantly influenced by energy supplied by Sin and the sensible heat flux.

Ice shelves form where ice flows off the Antarctic ice sheet onto the sea to produce rather flat slabs of floating ice which, for the theoretician, are the simplest of all large ice masses. Boundary conditions are well defined, conditions change very slowly over distances that are large compared with ice thickness, and horizontal velocities are independent of depth. Unconfined ice shelves can be used as giant creep machines to investigate the ice flow law at low stresses. Further inland, where movement is hampered by obstructions such as grounded ice rises and by shear between the ice shelf and its sides, the ice shelf transmits a backpressure which tends to restrict drainage from the ice sheets that feed it. Wastage from ice shelves is principally by calving and by bottom melting. There has been no direct measurement of bottom-melting rates, but indirect evidence suggests that, near the seaward edges of ice shelves, bottom-melting rates may exceed one metre per year, with significant melting within about 100 km of the ice front. Further inland there may be bottom freezing, and analysis of cores taken from the Amery Ice Shelf indicate that bottom-freezing rates average 0.5 m a–1 over a distance of 200 km. Such high freezing-rates are probably exceptional, and, beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, freezing appears to be insignificant even at a distance of 400 km from the ice front.

Because of their accessibility ice shelves have been studied in considerable detail, but many problems remain. In particular we need to improve our understanding of basal flux, ice-shelf dynamics near the grounding line, the calving of icebergs, and the state of equilibrium of ice rises. In addition there is a clear need for basic data from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf.

The nature and behaviour of sediment beneath glaciers influences how they flow and respond to changing environmental conditions. The difficulty of accessing the bed of current glaciers is a key constraint to studying the processes involved. This paper explores an alternative approach by relating sediments under the beds of former mid-latitude ice sheets to changing ice behaviour during a glacial cycle. The paper focuses on the partly marine-based Pleistocene British-Irish ice sheet in the Clyde basin, Scotland. A three-dimensional computation of subsurface glacial sediment distribution is derived from 1260 borehole logs. Sediment distribution is linked to an empirically based reconstruction of ice-sheet evolution, permitting identification of distinctive phases of sedimentation. Maximum sediment mobilization and till deposition (~0.04ma_1) occurred during ice advance into the basin from adjacent uplands. Transport distances were generally short. Subglacial processes were influenced locally by the relative stiffness of pre-existing sediments, the permeability of the sub-till lithology, and topography; the resulting mean till thickness is 7.7 m with a high standard deviation of 7.0 m. In places, focused till deposition sealed pre-existing permeable substrates, promoting lower effective pressures. Sediment remobilization by meltwater was a key process as ice margins retreated through the, basin.

During the 1992 summer field season we installed arrays of “plough-meters” and water-pressure transducers beneath Trapridge Glacier. Yukon Territory, Canada, to study hydromechanical coupling at the ice–bed interface. Diurnal signals recorded with two of these ploughmeters appear to correlate with fluctuations in sub-glacial water pressure. These diurnal variations can be explained by changes in basal resistance to sliding as mechanical conditions at the bed vary temporally in response to changes in the subglacial hydrological system. We propose that a lubricating water film, associated with high water pressures, promotes glacier sliding, whereas low pressures cause increased basal drag resulting in “sticky” areas. Using a theoretical model, we analyze the sliding motion of glacier ice over a flat surface having variable basal drag and show that a consistent explanation can be developed. Results from our model calculations provide strong support for the existence of time-varying sticky spots which are associated with fluctuations in subglacial water pressure.

Single crystals with a wide variety of orientations were cut from large pucks of laboratory-grown ice. Constant-strain-rate compression tests were performed on the crystals either at an axial strain rate of 1 × 10−5 s−1at –20°C or at axial strain rates from 1 × 10−6 s−1 to 1 × 10−4 s−1 at –10°C. In agreement with previous studies of ice flow, the compression tests showed a linearly rising stress with increasing strain, followed by a sharply declining stress after reaching a peak. With further strain, the sharp decline in stress slowed and the flow stress approached a plateau that was only weakly dependent on strain. For all crystallographic orientations, it was found that Schmid’s (critical resolved shear stress) law was obeyed by the peak stress. Slip lines clearly showed that basal slip was the deformation mode.

With mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet accelerating and spreading to higher latitudes, the quantification of mass discharge in the form of icebergs has recently received much scientific attention. Here we make use of very low-frequency (0.001–0.01 Hz) seismic data from three permanent broadband stations installed in the summers of 2009–10 in northwest Greenland in order to monitor local calving activity. At these frequencies, calving seismograms are dominated by a tilt signal produced by local ground flexure in response to fjord seiching generated by major iceberg calving events. A simple triggering algorithm is proposed to detect calving events from large calving fronts with potentially no user interaction. Our calving catalogue identifies spatial and temporal differences in calving activity between Jakobshavn Isbræ and glaciers in the Uummannaq district ∼200 km to the north. The Uummannaq glaciers show clear seasonal fluctuations in seiche-based calving detections as well as seiche amplitudes. In contrast, the detections at Jakobshavn Isbræ show little seasonal variation, which may be evidence for an ongoing transition to winter calving activity. The results offer further evidence that seismometers can provide efficient and inexpensive monitoring of calving fronts.