Physics of Glaciers

The course outlines the physical principles governing the gravity-driven motion of glacier ice. This is applied to understand the response of glaciers and ice sheets to changes in their environment. Polar ice caps, ice streams and mountain glaciers and their recent rapid changes are discussed.

The dynamics of glaciers and polar ice sheets is the key requisite to understand their history and their future evolution. We will take a closer look at ice deformation, basal motion, heat flow and glacier hydraulics. The specific dynamics of tide water and calving glaciers is investigated, as is the reaction of glaciers to changes in mass balance (and therefore climate).