A short history of scientific investigations on glaciers

Clarke, Garry K. C.

doi:10.3189/s0022143000215785

Cited by 67 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 252 publications

(260 reference statements)

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“…Water was recognized to play a facilitatory role in glacier flow by some of the earliest pioneers of modern glaciology [32,33] (see Clarke [34]). It was not until the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, however, that the theoretical foundations for our modern conceptual models of glacier drainage were laid (figure 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling water flow under glaciers and ice sheets

2015

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Recent observations of dynamic water systems beneath the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have sparked renewed interest in modelling subglacial drainage. The foundations of today's models were laid decades ago, inspired by measurements from mountain glaciers, discovery of the modern ice streams and the study of landscapes evacuated by former ice sheets. Models have progressed from strict adherence to the principles of groundwater flow, to the incorporation of flow 'elements' specific to the subglacial environment, to sophisticated twodimensional representations of interacting distributed and channelized drainage. Although presently in a state of rapid development, subglacial drainage models, when coupled to models of ice flow, are now able to reproduce many of the canonical phenomena that characterize this coupled system. Model calibration remains generally out of reach, whereas widespread application of these models to large problems and real geometries awaits the next level of development.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling water flow under glaciers and ice sheets

2015

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“…In what Clarke (1987 ) has described as the first example of numerical modeling in glaciology, Nye ( 1965) obtained fini te-difference solutions for steady-state flow in uniform, inclined channels of various geometries using Glen's nonlinear flow law for ice deformation and a boundary condition of zero or uniform sliding. Although Nye's predictions of cross-sectional flow patterns were consisten t with data for glacier-surface velocities, subsequent observations of the internal distribution of flow in a glacier section (Raymond, 1971;Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of a general sliding law to simulating flow in a glacier cross-section

Harbor

1992

J. Glaciol.

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ABSTRACT. Observations at Athabasca Glacier and elsewhere suggest that basal sliding can account for a very significant part of total glacier motion, and that sliding rates vary significantly across a glacier section. The ability to model such spatial variations in basal velocities is important in understanding flow in valley glaciers, as well as in predicting spatial patterns of glacial erosion that drive land-form development models. With a sliding law in which the basal velocity is dependent on the bas al shear stress and inversely dependent on the effective pressure at the bed, it is possible to predict an overall flow pattern that is consistent with the empirical data, if it is assumed that friction increases close to the margin of a glacier.

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“…In the 1950s, the rigorous mathematical descriptions of physics started to enter glaciology. This can be seen from the 'Bader peak', the first 'Nye peak' and the 'Robin and Rö thlisberger peak', presented by Garry Clarke (1987) in a memorable talk, 'A short history of scientific investigations on glaciers', given in the special session on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the International Glaciological Society during the Second Symposium on Remote Sensing in Glaciology in 1986, held at the University of Cambridge, UK. The peaks mark large peaks in the number of equations per 100 pages of the Journal of Glaciology, compared to the relatively steady number of maps (Fig.…”

Section: Physical Glaciologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…He was perhaps the first to propose viscous flow for glacier ice. (For more details see Clarke, 1987, and references therein.) Systematic observations of the motion of glaciers were conducted during the 19th century on Unteraargletscher and Rhonegletscher, Switzerland.…”

Section: The Beginningmentioning

confidence: 99%

A short history of the thermomechanical theory and modeling of glaciers and ice sheets

2010

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This paper is dedicated to Kolumban Hutter on the occasion of his 70th birthday ABSTRACT. Observations of glacier flow and explanations of its origin started as early as the 18th century. Several mechanisms were suggested before gravity-driven viscous flow became the accepted theory of glacier flow in the 1950s, the early years of the Journal of Glaciology. Since the viscosity of ice is strongly temperature-dependent, the topic of glacier and ice-sheet dynamics became essentially a fluid-dynamical problem. The availability of growing computing power turned the field of glacier mechanics and thermodynamics into a field of numerical modelling with increasing sophistication.

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A short history of scientific investigations on glaciers

Cited by 67 publications

References 252 publications

Modelling water flow under glaciers and ice sheets

Modelling water flow under glaciers and ice sheets

Application of a general sliding law to simulating flow in a glacier cross-section

A short history of the thermomechanical theory and modeling of glaciers and ice sheets

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