CaltechAUTHORS
  A Caltech Library Service

Glacier Geophysics

Kamb, Barclay (1964) Glacier Geophysics. Science, 146 (3642). pp. 353-365. ISSN 0036-8075. doi:10.1126/science.146.3642.353. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20151209-150524727

Full text is not posted in this repository. Consult Related URLs below.

Use this Persistent URL to link to this item: https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20151209-150524727

Abstract

From physical measurements on glaciers and experimental studies of ice properties a framework of concept and theory is being built which bids fair to place glaciers among the more quantitatively understandable phenomena in the earth sciences. Measurements of flow velocity, deformation and stress, ice thickness and channel configuration, temperature, internal structure of theice, mass and energy balance, and response to meteorological variables all contribute to this understanding, as do still other measurements hardly discussed here, such as electrical properties, radioactive age measurements, and detailed studies of chemical and isotopic composition. The obvious goals of this work—the interpretation of past and present glacier fluctuations in terms of changes in world climate, and the prediction of glacier behavior—remain elusive, even though a good conceptual groundwork has been laid for dealing with the more tractable aspects of these problems. Intriguing recent discoveries have been made about such matters as the way in which glaciers react dynamically to changing conditions, the inter-relations between thermal regime and ice motion, the structural mechanisms of glacier flow, and the changes produced in ice by flow. One can recognize in these developments the possibility that concepts derived from the study of glacier flow may be applicable to phenomena of solid deformation deep in the earth. In this way glacier geophysics may have a useful impact beyond the study of glaciers themselves.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.146.3642.353DOIArticle
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/146/3642/353PublisherArticle
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1714269JSTORArticle
Additional Information:© 1964 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Various aspects of my own work reported here were supported by the National Science Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Geological Society of America. Robert P. Sharp commented helpfully on the manuscript, and J . A. Bender kindly furnished the illustration for Fig. 3. This article is contribution No. 1250 of the Division of the Geological Sciences, California Institute of Technology.
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
NSFUNSPECIFIED
Guggenheim FoundationUNSPECIFIED
Geological Society of AmericaUNSPECIFIED
Other Numbering System:
Other Numbering System NameOther Numbering System ID
Caltech Division of Geological Sciences1250
Issue or Number:3642
DOI:10.1126/science.146.3642.353
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20151209-150524727
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20151209-150524727
Official Citation:Glacier Geophysics Barclay Kamb Science 16 October 1964: 146 (3642), 353-365. [DOI:10.1126/science.146.3642.353]
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:62755
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Tony Diaz
Deposited On:09 Dec 2015 23:18
Last Modified:10 Nov 2021 23:06

Repository Staff Only: item control page