Course notes for Glaciology, GEOL 4888

 

Spring term, 2021,

Professor Neil Humphrey

Room 320 in the (old) Geology building

Email neil@uwyo.edu

 

Office hours are 3 to 4 on Monday and 2 to 4 on Thursday.  It is a really good idea to set up an appointment, even during those times, since I am often away, in my lab, or at meetings.

 

This is a lecture course and your notes will be a prime source and reference. 

 

Recommended texts:                                                           Physics of Glaciers, Cuffey and Paterson, 4th edition. 

This is expensive (which is why I didn’t order thru the bookstore!), you can get it online for about $80, or ebook for about ½ that. 

I will put a copy on reserve in the Geology Library. 

Make sure you get the 4th edition, although the 3rd edition will have most of the readings.

There will be a lot of readings from this book, so if you can get your own copy that would be best.

                                                                                    The Global Cryosphere, by Barry and Gan

This is a good book, which the UWYO library has in ebook form.  You can sign this out, but you have to download Adobe Digital Editions to read.   (Adobe Digital is a pain, sorry, but it and the book are free!)

 

 

Also recommended (but definitely not required):           Principles of glacier mechanics, by Roger Hooke, 2nd edition. 

This lists for about $80 and has some sections that are better than Cuffey and Paterson, a dense book, but some good sections.

I will put at least 1, possibly 2 copies on reserve.

                                                                                    The Cryosphere, by S Marshall,

Nice overview of the cryosphere, with emphasis on its role in climate change, about $30 although you can get it a lot cheaper.

 

In addition I have put other books on reserve:

 

Glaciers, by Hambrey et al.                                              a pretty picture book 

Glaciers and Glaciation, by Benn and Evans              a nice overview stressing glacial geology

Fundamentals of Glacier Dynamics, VanDer Veen   more physics than you will ever need

Physics of Ice, Petrenko and Whitworth                        further readings on the fascinating properties of ice as a material

 

 

Grading

The grade for this course will be based mainly on a final, midterm, a final paper and a few homework sets (each of these 4 items worth approx. the same).  Much of the course material is not in the texts and so I will expect you to attend the lectures.  I will not take attendance, but if your absence becomes noticeable (more than 3 lectures), I will reduce your grade. 

However, grading will not be finalized until after our first meeting and I have had a chance to get your input.  We will talk about this in class.

 

Notes on the course:

This is not a survey course, nor is it a pretty picture course. On the other hand it is not designed to be beyond the abilities and background of most juniors and seniors.

This course deals extensively with ice deformation, phase changes, atmospheric couplings and other topics of a basic but precise physical nature.  I will try not to get bogged down in the math or the physics, however an understanding of the fundamental physics of heat flow, fluid flow and elastic deformation is necessary for this course.  We will review most of the physics, but I will assume you have had, and remembered at least some of, a physics course.  I will also need to express some of the theory in terms of calculus.  We will not be using calculus to solve problems but recognizing the meaning of both differential and integral terms is necessary.

 

Two particular areas of knowledge that cause problems and that are used a lot in this course are: basic thermodynamics, and stress and strain.  In ice/water interactions and phase changes we must be very careful with what we mean by heat and temperature.  Likewise, since ice/snow deforms in glacier flow, sea ice, avalanches and anywhere there is bulk ice or snow, and ice deformation is extremely complex at all scales, we will need to be very precise about driving stresses and resulting strains.  Ideally you would already have had a course in Thermodynamics and Continuum Mechanics, however I realize that this is unlikely, and we will try to cover this gap.

 

Despite the above, I am aware that most students will find many of the concepts in this course to be a novel exposure, and I am planning on supplying a considerable amount of background theory to help you.

 

This course will rest heavily on readings to cover the factual material, while I will present mainly theory and examples in class.