Colour atlas of glacial phenomena / Цветной атлас ледниковых явлений

Glaciers and ice sheets are among the world’s most beautiful and fascinating natural wonders. Whereas today glacier ice covers approximately a tenth of Earth’s land surface, during the ice ages of the last few million years, as much as a third of the land surface was covered by glacier ice. Modern glaciers and ice sheets possess many interesting features that reflect their dynamics, their interaction with landscape, rock, sediment and water, and they also inform us about climate change. The legacy of ice masses is reflected in the presence of a variety of landforms and sediments, many of which are also recorded in the rock record. The value of glaciers to society is immense.
Glacial meltwater provides hydro-electric power, irrigates areas of low or seasonal rainfall; glacial sediments yield mineral-rich soil and provide abundant sand and gravel resources; and glaciers have shaped erosional landscapes that support tourism. Glaciers also threaten human life and property in mountain regions, and most important of all they influence global climate and sea level. Several hundred phenomena associated with glaciers, both past and present, are described in this Atlas. With over 600 photographs, mainly from the authors’ own collections accumulated over a period of forty years, glaciers and landforms in many parts of the world are illustrated: amongst the areas covered are the High-Arctic, the Western Cordillera of North America, the Andes of South America, the Alps of Europe, the British Isles, the Himalaya, New Zealand and Antarctica. In addition, certain glacier-related concepts are illustrated with diagrams. All these topics are preceded by an explanation of the various aspects of glacier science, thus setting the scene for the A–Z of glacial phenomena that forms the core of the book.