Now in its 4th Edition, this classic text covers the physical principles underlying the behavior of glaciers -- terrestrial ice bodies originating as accumulations of snow -- including mountain glaciers, small ice caps, ice sheets, and shelves. New material on climate change includes interactions between ice sheets and the ocean and atmosphere, paleoclimate reconstruction using ice cores, Quaternary climate history and the ice ages, and sea level rise. The book also explores topics of interest to geologists and geophysicists, including glacial connections to geomorphology, sedimentation, isostasy, and tectonics.
Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers (Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series)
The earth’s cryosphere, which includes snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, ice shelves, sea ice, river and lake ice, and permafrost, contains about 75% of the earth’s fresh water. It exists at almost all latitudes, from the tropics to the poles, and plays a vital role in controlling the global climate system. It also provides direct visible evidence of the effect of climate change, and, therefore, requires proper understanding of its complex dynamics.This encyclopedia mainly focuses on the various aspects of snow, ice and glaciers, but also covers other cryospheric branches, and provides up-to-date information and basic concepts on relevant topics.
Global Warming Cycles: Ice Ages and Glacial Retreat
Earth has always exhibited patterns of heating up and cooling down. At some points in time, many areas of Earth were shrouded in blankets of ice, with ice caps and glaciers dominating the landscape. Certain areas on Earth have been covered with prominent glaciers multiple times in the past for millions of years. Since the last ice age, which ended just over 10,000 years ago, the Earth's climate has been relatively stable, with just a few fluctuations;...
