Principles of Glacier Mechanics

The third edition of this successful textbook will supply advanced undergraduate and graduate students with the tools they need to understand modern glaciological research. Practicing glacial geologists and glaciologists will also find the volume useful as a reference book. Since the second edition, three-quarters of the chapters have been updated, and two new chapters have been added. Included in this edition are noteworthy new contributions to our understanding of important concepts, with over 170 references to papers published since the second edition went to press. The book develops concepts from the bottom up: a working knowledge of calculus is assumed, but beyond that, the important physical concepts are developed from elementary principles. Emphasis is placed on connections between modern research in glaciology and the origin of features of glacial landscapes. Student exercises are included.

A text for beginning students in glaciology, and a reference for glacial geologists, geomorphologists, and structural geologists. Contains chapters on mass balance, flow of a crystalline material, temperature distribution in polar ice sheets, water flow in glaciers, stress and deformation, and response of glaciers to changes in mass balance. Includes b&w diagrams. An appendix contains problems keyed to chapters, plus physical constants, SI units, and conversion factors. Assumes a solid background in basic physics and in differential and integral calculus, with some exposure to differential equations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.