For 3 months in 1978, the 14.6 GHz Seasat-A scatterometer (SASS) measured the normalized microwave-radar back-scatter coefficient of the Earth’s surface for the purpose of estimating near-surface vector winds over the ocean. SASS also made back-scatter measurements over land and ice regions; however, the application of this data has been limited due to the low (50 km) resolution of the measurements. Using a new technique for generating 6 km enhanced-resolution SASS images of the radar back-scatter characteristics, we present a study of the 1978 condition of the Greenland ice sheet. We derive a time-series of back-scatter images spanning the period July–September 1978. These images show the extent of summer ablation along the ice-sheet periphery. Using the data and models relating firn structure and condition to radar back-scatter characteristics, we delineate and map the seasonal extent of zones which appear to correspond to dry-snow, percolation, wet-snow, and ablation facies, over virtually the entire ice sheet. The results provide a base line with which to compare current (ERS-1) and future Greenland radar maps of snow-and ice-surface conditions.

TV-video observations of four boreholes in Storglaciären, Sweden, revealed that 1.3% of the observed ice column was composed of englacial voids. The form of the voids is presented by photographs from the video. It is suggested that they are openings into englacial channels and cavities which were intersected during drilling. The observations further showed that about 11% of the ice column consisted of air-bubble-poor blue-ice inclusions. The observations show a relation between the blue-ice inclusions and the voids, which indicates that the origin and development of these features are coupled to each other. It is suggested that crevasses in the accumulation area are an important factor in this process.

A surge of West Fork Glacier, a temperate glacier in the Susitna Basin of the Alaska Range, began soon after the end of the 1987 melt season and terminated on 6 July 1988. Reconnaissance measurements of balance, elevation and speed had been made from 1981 to 1983. Daily measurements of surface speed at two points 9 km apart and of the characteristics of the stream draining the glacier were begun during the surge and continued through the following year. The maximum displacement of the ice during the surge was about 4 km; the maximum change in surface elevation was about 120 m. Between the time of the start of detailed observations on 12 February 1988 and the onset of a complex termination phase during the last month of the surge, the speed was almost constant, and the water discharge was totally free of turbidity, indicating that no basal water was escaping from the glacier. During the termination phase, sharp changes in speed occurred, almost simultaneously at the two observation sites; each deceleration event was accompanied by high sediment concentration and high water discharge. This behavior is similar to that observed on Variegated Glacier during its 1982-83 surge. The mechanism of triggering (related to surface water input and the disruption of the internal drainage system) and the cause of the fast motion were probably the same for both surges, even though there are substantial differences in size and mass-balance characteristics.

In parts of the core area of the Fennoscandian ice sheet relict periglacial surfaces occur. The boundary between periglacial and glacial landscapes is often sharp and erosional, with fluting truncating patterned ground. The periglacial surfaces are older than the last ice sheet and are interpreted to represent patches of continuous frozen-bed conditions. A specific land-form assemblage occurs at the edges of such patches. On the basis of three type localities along the eastern rim of the Scandinavian mountains, four thermal boundary land forms, characteristic of the frozen-patch environment, are defined. Stoss-side moraines and transverse till scarps, not previously described, are interpreted to have formed in detachment zones where soil frozen to the glacier overlies thawed soil. The detachment zones are located where subglacial warming raises the phase-change surface (water/ice) until it intersects the soil layer up-and down-glacier from residual frozen-bed patches. The up-glacier ends of frozen-bed patches are located on topographic highs, but down-glacier the location of lateral sliding boundaries is occasionally independent of topography. The identification of relict surfaces and thermal boundary forms can improve paleo-ice-sheet models by providing estimates of the extent of frozen-bed conditions.

The brittle failure of saline columnar ice was investigated under biaxial compression at and −10° and −40°C over the range 0 ≤ RA < 1 where RA is the ratio of the intermediate to major principal compressive stress. The major principal stress and the intermediate (confining) stress were orthogonal to the columnar axes (type-A confinement); both stresses and the c-axes of the grains were co-planar. The results confirm earlier work by Hausier (1981) and Timco and Frederking (1983, 1986) on saline ice and follow similar behavior to fresh-water columnar ice found by Smith and Schulson (1993) and Frederking (1977). Failure stress and failure mode are sensitive to the confinement and two regimes of behavior are found: the failure stress first rapidly increases with RA in the range 0 ≤ RA < RT and then tends to decrease for RA > Rt. The transition stress ratio, Rt changes from ≈0.2 at −10°C to ≈0.1 at −40°C. The failure mode changes from axial splitting to shear faulting in the loading plane for 0 < RA < Rt. Above Rt failure changes to a combined mode of splitting across the columns and shear faulting out of the loading plane. The failure-stress envelope is of a truncated Coulomb-type. Damage studies show wing cracks and local fragmentation of grains involving the brine pockets. The results are explained in terms of Coulombic sliding and Hertzian crack mechanics.

Statistical analyses and model experiments suggest that the sea-ice cover is predictable weeks to months in advance. As such, it is one of the most highly predictable components of the climate system. The thermodynamic mechanisms by which this predictability can be realized are examined. It is found that the predictability is dependent on the differential growth/decay of sea ice as a function of thickness. In winter or year-round, for thin ice, the growth/decay rates are a strong function of thickness, which gives a relatively short period of predictability, though still long compared to the atmosphere. In summer, or year-round for thick ice, growth/decay rates are only weak functions of thickness and the period of predictability is comparatively long.

The decay of a lake-ice cover in the Canadian High Arctic was studied for 2 years. Melt at the upper surface accounted for 75% of the decrease in ice thickness, while 25% occurred at the ice–water interface. An energy-balance model, incorporating density reduction due to internal ice melt, was used to simulate the decay of the ice cover. The overall performance of the model was satisfactory despite periods when computed results differed from the observed ice decay. Energy-balance calculations indicated that the absorption of shortwave radiation within the ice provided 52% of the melt energy while 33 and 15% came from the surface-energy balance and heat flux from the water.

Boreholes were drilled in South Cascade Glacier to investigate the hydraulics of subglacial water flow. Results indicate that subglacial water pressures are generally close to local ice-overburden pressures and that a subglacial debris layer probably exists. Calculations indicate that the range of hydraulic conductivity of this layer is 10−7-10−4m−1. The borehole water levels generally increased during the ablation season and may be caused by a seasonal evolution in the permeability of the debris layer. Water in the debris layer drains to a subglacial conduit, the existence of which is inferred by large diurnal variations in the water level of one borehole. These levels commonly reached the bottom of the glacier, indicating near-atmospheric pressures in the conduit.

An experimental investigation into the mechanical behaviour of polycrystalline ice in triaxial compression has been conducted using conditions generally favourable to brittle fracture and microcracking. Under triaxial stresses at high strain rate, ice failure occurs by abrupt shear fracturing, generally inclined at about 45° to the maximum principal stress. At −20°C, such failure is suppressed by the imposition of a small confining pressure, allowing a transition to ductile-type flow accompanied by distributed microcracking, but at —40°C shear fracture persists under confinement of up to at least 50 MPa. For low confining pressures (< 10 MPa), brittle strength is strongly pressure-dependent; above this it is pressure-independent. Evidence is presented that suggests this may reflect a change from a fracture process influenced by friction to fracture initiated by localized yielding. Ductile yield strength is found to be little influenced by confining pressure despite the inhibition of cracking that leads to greatly contrasting observed crack densities. Flow conforms to the well-known power law for ice with Q = 69 J mol−1 and n = 4.2 over the temperature range −20° to −4-5° C Under these conditions, microcracking in ice appears to remain remarkably stable and non-interacting.

Experimental and theoretical studies on the growth rate of an icicle were carried out as a function of temperature, water-supply rate and wind speed; the relative humidity was also taken into account. The length of an icicle increases by the downward growth of thin dendritic crystals into the supercooled pendant water drop at the tip, and thus the growth is in the crystallographic a-axis direction. The diameter, on the other hand, increases by the freezing of a water film flowing down along the icicle wall. The ratio of measured length-and diameter-growth rates was large, namely 8–32.

Both growth rates increased with decreasing temperature and increasing wind speed. The increase in water-supply rate led to the decrease in the length-growth rate but no significant change in the diameter-growth rate. These results could be well described by a numerical model of icicle growth which takes account of the dendritic growth at the tip and the wall and the effective heat transfer within the turbulent boundary layer around the icicle. A formation mechanism of ribs and hollows is discussed in relation to the flowing and freezing process of water on an icicle wall.

The basal ice layer of surge-type Variegated Glacier, Alaska, appears to have formed by a combination of (i) open-system freezing of subglacial meltwaters over both rigid and unconsolidated substrates; (ii) apron over-riding during surge-induced glacier advance; (iii) incorporation of glacier ice by recumbent folding, thrust-faulting and nappe over-riding during down-glacier propagation of a surge front; and (iv) post-formational metamorphism involving recrystallization, partial internal melting and squeezing out of meltwaters and dissolved gases. Structural evidence and the characteristics of debris entrained in ice facies formed by basal freezing suggest that the layer includes a lower element formed under surge conditions and an upper element formed during the quiescent phase of a surge cycle. The lower element is depleted in comminution products and enriched in medium gravel, while the upper element contains comminution products but virtually no medium gravel. This distinction is attributed to the efficiency of bedrock fracture and meltwater flushing of comminution products under surge conditions. The basal ice layer thickens from <1 m to >13 m down-glacier in a manner consistent with the magnitude of horizontal shortening induced by the 1982–83 surge. Thickening is largely tectonic in origin, and the style and intensity of folding and thrust faulting change down-glacier as the magnitude of horizontal shortening increases. Tectonic processes associated with the down-glacier propagation of surge fronts therefore appear to be capable of creating thick basal ice layers which allow extensive supraglacial sedimentation of subglacially derived debris.

We calibrate the δ18O paleothermometer for central Greenland using borehole temperatures, a thermal model forced by a measured δ18O record and a formal inverse technique. The calibration is determined mostly by temperature fluctuations of the last several centuries, including the Little Ice Age. Results are generally insensitive to model variables, including initial condition, basal boundary condition, parameterization of snow thermal properties, ice thickness and likely errors in temperature and isotope measurements. Results of this borehole calibration also seem to be in agreement with modern spatial gradients of δ18O and temperature. We suggest that calibrations of isotopic paleothermometers using borehole temperatures are a useful paleoclimate tool, because they are independent of spatial gradients and include the effects of prehistoric temperatures over ice sheets.

A numerical avalanche-prediction scheme was developed for highway applications at Kootenay Pass, British Columbia. The model features parametric discriminant analysis using Bayesian statistics to predict avalanche occurrences. Cluster techniques are then employed in discriminant space to analyze avalanche occurrences by the method of nearest neighbours. Extensive numerical testing of the model using an historical data base indicates that prediction accuracy may be 70% or better for both avalanche and non-avalanche time intervals.

Spatial variations in the debris-bearing basal ice layer exposed at the ice-sheet margin in West Greenland reflect the geography of basal melting and ice flow around large obstacles close to the margin. This paper demonstrates the character of the basal ice layer, which comprises fine material incorporated in an interior, subglacial environment and coarser material entrained in an ice-marginal environment. We develop an empirical model of ice flow close to a lobate margin of the ice sheet in which ice convergence and divergence, and limited subglacial melting affect the character and distribution of the basal ice at the margin. There is a tendency for the convergence and divergence to thicken the basal layer in lobate areas and to thin it in inter-lobate areas. Under certain circumstances, basal melting may remove much of the layer from beneath the snouts of larger lobes, thus causing the basal layer to be thickest in an intermediate location.

Analyses of total β and γ radioactivity have been carried out on ten shallow ice cores collected in 1989 and 1990 on Kongsvegen and Sveabreen, Spitsbergen. No peak of total β radioactivity, corresponding to the Chernobyl accident (1986), can be identified. Chernobyl layers were identified by 137Cs and 134Cs activities, and a signal from the nuclear tests in Novaya Zemlya (1961–62), was detected at one location by 137Cs activity. The mean net accumulation for the periods 1986–89 and 1962–88 was estimated for both glaciers. Using topographic data, the mean net ablation on Kongsvegen was estimated for the period 1964–90 and the mean net balances were calculated. The results agree with recent direct glaciological balance measurements. For the period 1986–89, the net accumulation was higher on Sveabreen than on Kongsvegen, and the equilibrium-line altitudes (ELA) were around 450 and 520 m a.s.l., respectively. Kongsvegen had a positive balance of 0.11 m w.eq. and Sveabreen was in equilibrium, whereas for the last 26 years the balance of Kongsvegen was slightly negative (−0.10 m w.eq.) and the ELA was around 560 m a.s.l.

New strain data relating to flexural oscillations of the Erebus Glacier Tongue (EGT), McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, are presented and are analysed in the frequency domain. The data were collected during November 1989, just 3 months prior to the most recent calving of the ice tongue which occurred in March 1990. A broad-band oscillation centred on 50 s is found in both the strain measurements collected on the EGT and those collected on the sea ice nearby. The oscillation is shown, at least in part, to be propagating with a phase velocity of approximately 65 ms−1 in a direction away from the snout towards the grounding line, rather than being wholly due to a standing-wave pattern in the EGT. A coupling model between the sea ice and the EGT is proposed and is shown to compare reasonably well with the data.

The texture and physical properties of an ice core, recovered to 215 m depth from the Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, have been studied with regard to formation and transformation of the ice. At a depth of 152.8 m, a sharp discontinuity marks the transition between meteoric ice accumulated from above and marine ice accreted from below, as testified by electrolytical conductivity and stable-isotope measurements as well as geophysical field surveys. Automated image analysis of thin sections indicates that the decrease in grain-boundary density and the increase in grain cross-sectional area with depth is commensurate with though not necessarily caused by thermodynamically driven grain growth down to 120 m depth, corresponding to a vertical strain of roughly 65% as computed with a simple temperature-history, particle-path model. The observed increase of grain-boundary density (i.e. a decrease of grain-size) with age in the marine ice is in part explained by the thermal history of this layer. Sediment inclusions at the top of the marine-ice layer affect the observed grain-boundary density profile by inhibiting grain growth and dynamic recrystallization. This may allow some conclusions on the role of temperature, particulate inclusions, stress and strain rate in controlling the grain-size evolution of deforming ice, supplementing earlier laboratory experiments conducted at much shorter time-scales. Salinities (0.026%), brine volumes (0.09–0.2%) and solid-salt concentrations have been computed from electrolytical conductivity measurements (mean of 51.0 × 10−6 S cm−1) for the marine ice. An assessment of salt incorporation and desalination rates shows that these low salinities can at present only be explained by a unique densification mechanism of under-water ice crystals at the base of the ice shelf.

During the Swedish Antarctic Expedition to Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, 1988–89 the net accumulation was estimated for an area from the coast to about 400 km inland. Stake measurements were used to obtain the spatial variability and firn cores were used for the temporal variability. The mean annual accumulation for the period 1976–88 is about 0.4mw.e. for Riiser-Larsenisen and about 0.3mw.e. for the area above the grounding line. The accumulation rate at higher altitudes, > 2500 m a.s.1., is about 0.1 m w.e. for 1955–88. One record from the ice shelf covers the period 1957–88, and suggests an increase in accumulation of about 12%. Between 1976 and 1988, the accumulation has decreased by about 50%, most likely due to lower temperatures as suggested by the temperature record from Halley.

This paper presents an original method for sampling special ice types like debris-rich ice or brittle ice that cannot be prepared using the standard band-saw/microtome procedure. The general working principles of the diamond wire-sawing technique are explained, and special adaptations for ice-cutting, thick-sectioning and thin-sectioning are discussed.

Field-test equipment called FIFT (a Field Instrument for Fracture toughness Tests on ice) was used in both field and laboratory fracture-toughness tests on brackish sea ice from the Gulf of Bothnia. An experimental calibration was performed and a compliance expression was then derived for the Short Rod Chevron Notched (SRCN) specimen. Using the SRCN configuration, for which the initial crack growth is shown to be stable, and measured load-point displacements, preliminary crack-growth velocities are found. The obtained estimated crack velocity is, on average, ȧe = 20 ms−1, albeit with a large standard deviation. The results indicate that critical crack (crack-jumping) growth occurs. The apparent fracture toughness, KQ, was found to have a pronounced dependency on porosity in the form of brine volume. The results obtained are derived from a linearly elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory. Consequently, the tests were designed to satisfy small-scale yielding requirements in terms of notch sensitivity and brittleness. The linearity of the load vs crack-opening displacement curves together with a size-effect study, showing that the specimen is notch-sensitive for grain-sizes ranging from 1.6 to nearly 100 mm, indicate that LEFM could be applicable.