EASC 314: Principles of Glaciology
| Credits: | 3 |
Pre-requisites: | MATH 152*, PHYS 121* or 126, GEOG 213 + |
Lecture (hrs/week): | 2 |
| Terms: | Spring, Fall |
Co-requisites: | None |
Lab (hrs/week): | 3 |
| Note: | * with grade C or higher; + or with permission of instructor | ||||
| Instructors: | Flowers | Quantitative | |||
| Course Notes: | |||||
Description:
This course is an introduction to the study of ice in the environment from a geophysical perspective, with specific attention to glaciers and ice sheets as (1) components of the global climate system, (2) indicators and archives of environmental conditions, (3) agents of catastrophic change and (4) resources. Topics include the physical and chemical properties of ice, glacier and ice-sheet thermomechanics, dynamics of Greenland and Antarctica, ice cores, subglacial lakes, unstable ice flow and resource exploitation in glacierized areas. The objective of this course is to equip students to understand some of the critical and emerging scientific issues related to Earth’s cryosphere.
Course Topics- Introduction
- Glaciers as components of the global climate system
- Glaciers as indicators and archives of environmental conditions
- Glaciers as agents of catastrophic change
- Glaciers as resources
Textbook:
The Physics of Glaciers, W.S.B. Paterson, 3rd edition, Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd.,1994, 481 pp.