A constitutive law for snow derived from a complementary power potential is proposed. The total deformation of snow is divided into elastic and creep parts. A hereditary integral using Norton’s power law is employed to describe primary creep. The concept of effective stress, which takes compressibility of snow into account, is used to calculate creep deformation. The hereditary integral is approximated by a non-linear spring–dashpot model. Results from uniaxial compression experiments (stress range 15– 45 kPa) on sieved snow of density range 180–470 kgm-3 were used to determine the constants appearing in the constitutive equation. The response of snow to constant strain rate (7.4×10-6 s-1 to 2.2×10-5 s-1) under bilaterally confined conditions was found with an iterative scheme employing the proposed constitutive law. The simulated results agree well with the measured axial stresses and volumetric changes.

Many glaciers are subject to melting due to high summer air temperatures. Here, the presence of meltwater in the subsurface layers of the glacier bulk, and its subsequent percolation and refreezing are implemented in the calibration of a paleothermometer. Accounting for the melt feature index and the measured oxygen-isotope ratio allows for calibration of the paleothermometer and comparison of different climatic proxies. The results of reconstructions agree with previous reconstructions at the depth of attenuation of the seasonal climate signals, which supports the validity of the paleothermometer calibration. The sensitivity of the reconstruction to variations of the model parameters was also studied. It was found that most likely snow–firn sequence and temperature fields were subjected to significant change due to current warming. Temperature changes in the snow–firn thickness of Akademii Nauk (Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic) and Austfonna (Svalbard) ice caps exceed by ∼6˚C the average Arctic temperature anomalies for the last 150 years. The reconstruction of the past surface temperatures and the parameters of the subsurface heat source due to refreezing of meltwater lead to the conclusion that meltwater spreads inside two to four annual layers for Akademii Nauk and Austfonna ice caps, respectively.

We present a two-dimensional climate model to be used for basic dynamic studies on ice-age time scales (103 to 106 years). The model contains an ice sheet, where flow and temperature are calculated in a vertical plane, oriented in the north-south direction. The model ice sheet is forced by a zonally-averaged atmospheric energy-balance model, including a seasonal cycle and a simplified hydrological cycle, which specifies ice temperature and the mass balance at the ice-sheet surface. At the bottom of the ice sheet, the geothermal heat flux is prescribed. In addition, delayed bedrock sinking (or bedrock rising) is assumed.

A stationary state is achieved after 200 000 model years. This long time scale is introduced by the slow evolution of the temperature field within the ice sheet. Using reasonable parameter values and presently observed precipitation patterns, modified by ice-sheet orography, the observed thickness to length ratio (4 km/3300 km) of the Laurentide ice sheet can be simulated within a realistic build-up time (40 000 years). Near the ice bottom, temperate regions developed. They may have had an important effect on ice-sheet build-up and ice-sheet decay.

The melting rate of the bottom of a snow cover during the winter and its variation with time were studied in relation to heat exchange at the ground-snow interface. Continuous observations were made of bottom-melt, using a lysimeter, during the past four winters beginning December 1980, at our test field in Moshiri, Hokkaido, which is known for severe coldness and deep snow.

During the four months in this area the amount of bottom-melt ranged from 45 - 70 mm in total and from 0.4 - 0.6 mm per day on average. In winters with much snow the daily amount of bottom-melt decreased gradually from a maximum of about 1.5 mm.d-1 in early December, reached its minimum of 0.2 - 0.3 mm d-1 day in February, and then increased again. In a winter with a smaller amount of snow it varied greatly with time during the early period of the winter and became zero temporarily. Such variations of the melting rate could be explained by conductive heat fluxes observed in the ground and snow. The daily average of the former was about 5 W.m-2 at a depth of 0.1 m in early December and decreased to about 2.5 W.m-2 in early April.

During September and October 1997, in the framework of a stay at the Shinjo Branch of Snow and Ice Studies, we used a Cryospheric Environment Simulator (Higashiura and others, 1997) and simulated drifting snow to test four mechanical traps. First we present the intercomparison of the four mechanical gauges, then we compare the gauges with the snow-particle counter (SPG). Comparing the four different traps tested, we have observed that the box type (snow collector) is generally more efficient than the net-type collectors. These results confirm the tendency observed in field experiments (Font and others, 1998b). Using the SPG to calibrate the mechanical gauges, we observed that the net-type traps underestimate transport in low-transport conditions, but as transport increases the underestimation tends to zero. Comparing the snow collector with the SPG, we observed good agreement between the two gauges.

The density structure of firn has implications for hydrological and climate modelling and for ice shelf stability. The firn structure can be evaluated from depth models of seismic velocity, widely obtained with Herglotz-Wiechert inversion (HWI), an approach that considers the slowness of refracted seismic arrivals. However, HWI is appropriate only for steady-state firn profiles and the inversion accuracy can be compromised where firn contains ice layers. In these cases, Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) can be more successful than HWI. FWI extends HWI capabilities by considering the full seismic waveform and incorporates reflected arrivals, thus offering a more accurate estimate of a velocity profile. We show the FWI characterisation of the velocity model has an error of only 1.7% for regions (vs. 4.2% with HWI) with an ice slab (20 m thick, 40 m deep) in an otherwise steady-state firn profile.

Field work for a geological map of the Convoy Range included mapping glaciers, moraines and surficial deposits. A range of glaciological indicators, including supraglacial and other moraines and margin morphology, has been used to assess the present equilibrium of the glaciers. Fields of rafted supraglacial moraine have accumulated over long periods of time at specific low-gradient, low-velocity locations. As the glacier regime changes, the shape of the moraine field distorts, signalling a change in flow pattern. By reversing the ice flow vectors directed at the moraine field, the directions from whence the debris came are shown. Unsorting the contortions of supraglacial moraine fields reveals the nature of the changes in glacier regime. Moraine-field configurations all suggest that local glaciers are expanding in response to higher local precipitation, estimated to have occurred between 2000 and 8000 year BP, most likely coincident with the world-wide “climatic optimum” of about 6000 year BP.

Ice-cliff morphology, fresh terminal moraines and boulder trains indicate that larger local glaciers are currently receding from a Holocene maximum, while the margin of the large Mackay Ice Sheet outlet glacier shows no evidence of recent recession and is probably close to its Holocene maximum. In contrast, areas of present snow cover are expanding, superimposing a recent positive balance (decades to hundreds of years), which has yet to reverse a general recession of mid- to high-altitude glaciers. Local hollows in some névé areas imply that glacier flow is not in equilibrium with snow accumulation.

Stable oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) of three shallow ice cores (extending back to 1963) from Urümqi glacier No. 1 at the headwater of Urümqi river, Tien Shan, northwest China, were used to test the relationship between δ18O and contemporaneous surface air temperature (Ta). The ice cores were dated using the seasonal stable-isotopic signals, and seven insoluble particulate β-activity horizons associated with known nuclear tests. Although a strong positive relationship exists between δ18O in precipitation and Ta at our study site, this relationship is not preserved between the annually averaged ice-core δ18O records and the local temperature due to post-depositional modification. These results indicate that the processes forming the ice-core chemical records in areas of high melt must be understood before the δ18O record can be confidently interpreted as a climatic indicator.

The problem of physically modelling snow avalanches with an aerosol cloud is considered. Using the simplest model of avalanche-body motion, the criteria of similarity for transit and deposit zones are written. The transit relations between model and natural scales for dynamic parameters of the avalanche body are established. On the basis of the similarity criteria, an approximate physical model of avalanches with an aerosol cloud is made using a mixture of ferromagnetic sawdust and aluminium dust. The setup allows us to start and stop the model avalanche during any stage of its motion and to model actual avalanches. A series of experiments was completed. It is shown that the basic mechanism of aerosol cloud generation for model avalanches is related to the hydraulic jump of fluid when a stormy flow changes to a calm one. A comparison of parameters for model and “home” avalanches (the vicinity of Elbrus) showed that the ratios of the sizes of dense and aerosol components and deposition zones of those avalanches are close to the geometric scale factor and the ratios of velocities, and durations of processes are close to the square root of this coefficient. The latter corresponds to modelling the process by Froude number.

A computer-based measurement system for characteristics of snowfall is described. To measure the size and velocity of falling snowflakes quantitatively, images of snowflakes were input to an image processor and the primary data were analyzed in real time. In this process, maximum diameter in a horizontal plane and falling velocity were recorded in previously set intervals, then stored on a disk. Since a lot of data were obtained during a full winter season, data had to be processed to make up a database after an experiment. Using this database, the data of the distribution of size and velocity of snowflakes can be retrieved at anytime.

We observed snowflakes during winter months of 1986-92 in Sapporo and Toyama, which are located near the north east and middle of the Japan Sea coast respectively. The data indicate that the average size of snowflakes in Toyama was larger than that in Sapporo, while the number concentration of snowflakes in Sapporo was rather higher. The fall velocity tends to increase with increasing size of snowflakes, as observed in both areas.

The primary goal of this paper is to demonstrate the dependence of Arctic Ocean sea-ice transport pathways on climate variations. We build our analysis on the results of Proshutinsky and Johnson (1997), Johnson and others (1999), Polyakov and others (1999) and Proshutinsky and others (1999), where we have shown that wind-driven ice motion and upper ocean circulation alternate between anticyclonic and cyclonic states. Shifts between regimes occur at 5−7 year intervals, resulting in a 10−15 year period. The anticyclonic circulation regime has been observed in our model results for 1946−52,1958−62,1972−79,1984−88 and 1998−present. The cyclonic circulation regime prevailed during 1953−57,1963−71,1980−83 and 1989−97. The regime shifts are fundamentally important to understanding the Arctic’s general circulation and particularly useful for estimating pollution transport by sea ice and surface waters. It is important to pollution studies to understand which circulation regime prevails. Initially, we simulate trajectories of a non-reactive, conservative soluble tracer. Results from this research demonstrate realistic potential flow pathlines and we describe how those pathlines change in response to climate forcing. These results can be used to aid current and future scenario risk assessments and may provide management agencies with the tools to determine where risks from contaminants might exist.

Ekström Ice Shelf and its catchment area form a comparatively small (∼29 000 km2) drainage system in northern Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Aerial-altimetry and radio-echo-sounding data of this region have been used to derive detailed maps of ice-surface and bedrock topographies and ice thickness. With the new database the volumes of the floating and grounded ice in the drainage system are calculated to be ∼3200 km3 and ∼16 000 km3, respectively. This corresponds to a total ice mass of ∼17 000 Gt. Four significant graben-like depressions in the bedrock topography have been identified, which incline from inland towards the grounding line and are up to ∼16 km wide there. These structures coincide with the particular zones of concentrated ice flux into the ice shelf. The total mean annual mass discharge over the grounding line of the larger western part and the smaller eastern part of Ekström Ice Shelf is estimated to be about 3.7 Gt and 0.4 Gt, respectively. Both parts represent individual ice-shelf systems with different catchment areas, geometric characteristics and flow regimes.

Sorting effects of snow particles during deposition were studied in field observations of snow cornices and wind-tunnel experiment of snow drifts. Grain size, density and hardness were larger at the upper part (root) of a cornice than at the lower part (scarp). Experiments with the use of a horizontal step in a wind-tunnel revealed the importance of redistribution of snow particles on the formation of drifts: at wind speed of 5 m/s, about 40% of particles fallen onto the surface behind a 0.1-m high step were removed by erosion, rebound and creep. The surface mass balance controlling the growth and shape of a drift are briefly discussed.

The Savage-Hutter model is generalized by including a velocity-dependent drag in addition to the usual Coulomb dry friction at the base of the avalanche. Both linear and quadratic velocity dependencies are considered, with either constant or asymptotically constant drag coefficients for large thickness h. The singular nature of the constant coefficient model for small h is demonstrated and it is shown that the asymptotic model allows the tail of the avalanche to move at a finite velocity. The inclusion of velocity drag changes the stress state in the avalanche and new earth-pressure relations are derived and investigated.

Deep geoelectric soundings using a Schlumberger array were carried out at Dome C, Antarctica. To penetrate the 3 500 m thick ice, electrode half spacings up to 8 km (the largest yet made on polar ice) were used. A constant-current dc transmitter with voltages up to 10 kV, resulting in constant currents of up to 10 mA, was employed; potentials were measured with an electrometer and recorded continuously on an x-y recorder.

A computer program has been developed to calculate apparent resistivities on an ice sheet in which the density, temperature, and impurities, and thus the actual resistivity, vary continuously with depth. Preliminary models show that the actual resistivity at a depth of about 500 m increases downward by a factor of about three, and that elevated resistivities must persist to much greater depth. This change in resistivity appears to be linked to transition from ice-age to Holocene ice.

The cause of this resistivity increase is not well understood, and may be attributed to any of several physical and chemical changes that also occur at about the same depth.

Over the past 70 years, many different components of the cryosphere have been imaged with a variety of radar systems using increasingly sophisticated processing techniques. These systems use various pulse lengths, signal frequencies and, in some cases, modulated signals. The increasing diversity of radar systems has created the potential for confusion due to the use of non-consistent terminology. Here we provide an overview of state-of-the-science radar technologies and suggest a simplified and unified terminology for use by the cryosphere community. We recommend a terminology that is target independent but specifies the characteristics of the signal. Following this recommendation, commercial impulse systems that penetrate the subsurface should be referred to as ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and pulse radars as radio-echo sounding (RES). Continuous-wave (CW) radar systems should be referred to as ground-penetrating CW radars. We further suggest any additional characterisation of the system be expressed using descriptors that specify the platform it is mounted on (e.g. airborne) or the frequency range (e.g. HF (high frequency)) or modulation (e.g. FM (frequency modulated)).

An automatic ice fabric analyser has been developed which precisely determines both c- and a-axes of the individual grains in a thin polycrystalline ice specimen by the use of X-ray Laue method (eg Cullity 1956). The method of analysis is computer-aided indexing of the zone-axes in X-ray Laue patterns. Crystal orientations can be automatically determined by the analyser with an error of approximately 0.6_. Time for analysing one specimen containing 100 grains is approximately three hours at present.

Many questions remain concerning whether or not an ice cap existed during the mid-Cretaceous period (120–90 Ma). Other than data and observations from ice-rafted materials, atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) may be appropriate tools to investigate whether changes in atmospheric composition, land-sea distribution, or oceanic circulation (used as boundary conditions to constrain the model), provide the climatic conditions that enable ice caps to be formed.

This study uses an AGCM developed by the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD) to perform a set of numerical sensitivity experiments to investigate plate tectonics (land–sea distribution and orography), CO2 partial pressure in the atmosphere and changes in prescribed sea-surface temperatures. The main goals are to quantify the effect of each forcing factor on the increase of Northern Hemisphere high-latitude temperatures, and to investigate whether combining these factors produce temperatures that would allow the ice-sheet formation.

Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) is known to experience transient thickness change due to changes in the flow of its tributary ice streams and glaciers and this may complicate identification of external, climate-forced signals in contemporary observations of ice shelf thinning and thickening. Flux changes at the lateral boundaries produce both instantaneous and longer timescale adjustments in the coupled velocity and thickness fields. Here, we adapt a statistical approach to output from a numerical model of ice shelf flow to identify characteristic patterns (spatial response surfaces) associated with stepped and cyclic perturbations to boundary fluxes. Once known, characteristic patterns identified in observational data may be attributed to specific sources. An example involving discharge of Byrd Glacier into RIS is described. We find that spatial response surfaces for thickness and velocity generated in individual flow model experiments appear to be independent of flux perturbation shape and magnitude. Additionally, recent acceleration of Byrd Glacier is apparent in ICESat-detected change in RIS thickness.

The study of surface features and processes on glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets often requires multitemporal data in order to take account of the dynamic behaviour of snow and ice. Satellite remote sensing provides an important means of acquiring such data sets from polar regions, but the effectiveness of visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) wavebands is severely limited by the frequent presence of cloud cover. As well as preventing direct imaging of the surface, cloud cover can be difficult to discriminate from snow and ice because of its similarly high reflectivity. This paper describes a detailed quantitative study of the limitations imposed by cloud cover. The number of potentially useful images which could have been acquired from a study area in Svalbard for the April-September period for 1980–89 is determined. Meteorological data from two stations analyzed over this study period show that fewer than 10% of the available satellite overpasses occurred during cloud-free periods. A cloud cover level of three octas or less, used to define high quality imagery, occurred 29% and 32% of the time at the two stations. Markedly seasonal variations are found which can be explained in terms of the regional climate such that during the months August and September the probability of obtaining a cloud-free Landsat image every year is effectively zero. Analysis of several years of Landsat Quick Look images for other regions of Svalbard confirms these findings. However, a similar series for the Scoresby Sund region of East Greenland shows a much higher percentage of low cloud scenes and no marked seasonality.