Glacial Sedimentary Processes and Products

Abstract

Research in the field of glacial sediments and sedimentary processes increasingly involves a range of different approaches including investigations of modern glacial processes, the paleoglacial record, and numerical ice sheet modeling. This diversity of approaches is reflected in this International Association of Sedimentologists special publication edited by Michael Hambrey et al., which stems from the 2005 “Conference on Glacial Sedimentary Processes and Products,” held at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Following a foreword about geologist Brian Harland (to whom the volume is dedicated) and the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth theory, and an introduction by the editors, the book has four parts.Part 1, “Glacier dynamics and sedimentation,” focuses on modern glacier and ice sheet processes. It includes three very diverse papers. A paper by Siegert et al. explores the possibility of hydrological links between Antarctic subglacial lakes and the consequences of rapid drainage events for subglacial erosion and deposition. This is followed by a paper (Midgley et al.) on moraine geomorphology and sedimentology in Svalbard, Norway, and a final paper (Rousselot et al.) on the description of a laboratory apparatus for investigating clast ploughing in sediments.