Glacial Geology: Ice Sheets and Landforms, 2nd Edition

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xi

Illustrations xiii

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

1.1 What is Glacial Geology and Why is it Important? 1

1.2 The Aim and Structure of this Book 6

Chapter 2: Glaciations Around The Globe 7

2.1 The Antarctic Ice Sheet 7

2.2 Greenland in the Greenhouse 15

2.3 Southern Hemisphere Temperate Glaciers: Patagonia and New Zealand 17

2.4 Northern Hemisphere Temperate Glaciers: Alaska and Iceland 21

2.5 High-Altitude Glaciers: The Himalaya 22

2.6 Tropical Glaciers: The Cordillera Blanca, Peru 26

2.7 Arctic Polythermal Glaciers 29

2.8 Summary 33

Suggested Reading 33

Chapter 3: Mass Balance and the Mechanisms of Ice Flow 41

3.1 Annual Mass Balance 41

3.2 The Mass Balance Gradient: The Glacial Driving Mechanism 44

3.3 Mechanisms of Ice Flow 47

3.4 The Principles of Basal Thermal Regime 55

3.5 Patterns and Rates of Ice Flow 63

3.6 Glacier Response to Climate Change 69

3.7 Summary 76

Suggested Reading 76

Chapter 4: Glacier Hydrology 81

4.1 Glacier Hydrology 81

4.2 Sources of Glacial Meltwater 82

4.3 Storage of Water in Glaciers 83

4.4 Methods of Studying Glacier Hydrology 84

4.5 Glacier Hydrological Systems 86

4.6 Subglacial Water Pressure 90

4.7 Discharge Fluctuations 97

4.8 Glacial Meltwater Erosion 102

4.9 Summary 104

Suggested Reading 104

Chapter 5: The Processes of Glacial Erosion 109

5.1 Glacial Abrasion 109

5.2 Glacial Quarrying 117

5.3 Estimating Rates of Glacial Erosion 125

5.4 Patterns of Glacial Erosion 128

5.5 Summary 131

Suggested Reading 131

Chapter 6: Landforms of Glacial Erosion 135

6.1 Microscale Features of Glacial Erosion 135

6.2 Mesoscale Features of Glacial Erosion 147

6.3 Macroscale Features of Glacial Erosion 157

6.4 Landscapes of Glacial Erosion 174

6.5 Summary 179

Suggested Reading 179

Chapter 7: Glacial Debris Entrainment and Transport 185

7.1 High-Level Debris Transport 185

7.2 Debris Entrainment 190

7.3 Low-Level Debris Transport 193

7.4 Debris Transfer Between Low and High Levels 197

7.5 Debris Transfer 198

7.6 Summary 202

Suggested Reading 203

Chapter 8: Glacial Sedimentation on Land 207

8.1 Direct Glacial Sedimentation 207

8.2 Fluvial Sedimentation 235

8.3 Summary 243

Suggested Reading 244

Chapter 9: Landforms of Glacial Deposition on Land 247

9.1 Ice-Marginal Moraines 247

9.2 Subglacial Landforms Formed by Ice or Sediment Flow 268

9.3 Glaciofluvial Ice-Marginal Landforms 289

9.4 Glaciofluvial Subglacial Landforms 296

9.5 Summary 299

Suggested Reading 299

Chapter 10: Glacial Sedimentation in Water 305

10.1 Sedimentation in Lacustrine Environments 305

10.2 Sedimentation in Marine Environments 315

10.3 Distinguishing Glaciolacustrine and Glaciomarine Diamicts from Glacial Tills 324

10.4 Summary 325

Suggested Reading 325

Chapter 11: Landforms of Glacial Deposition in Water 329

11.1 Glaciolacustrine Landforms 330

11.2 Glaciomarine Landforms 336

11.3 Summary 343

Suggested Reading 343

Chapter 12: Palaeoglaciology 347

12.1 The Methods Used in Palaeoglaciology 347

12.2 The Key Landforms Used in Palaeoglaciology 353

12.3 Former Subglacial Thermal Regimes 358

12.4 Palaeoglaciological Reconstructions 367

12.5 Summary 370

Suggested Reading 372

Index 377