Glaciology

Glaciology is the science of forms, occurrence and properties of ice and snow with their formations as glaciers, permafrost and ice shelf. It originated in the 19th century in Switzerland as glaciology.

Disciplines

The Glaciology is an interdisciplinary science that touches multiple earth and life sciences:

• Geology, geography, hydrology and meteorology
• Biology and ecology.

At the same time it is one of the most important disciplines of polar research and a data source climatology. The presence of ice on Mars and various moons of the planets of our solar system is this science also an extraterrestrial component.

Individual areas of this science include:

• The Glazialmorphologie, which deals with the forms of ice formations, and therefore the branch of physical geography is
• The Glazialgeologie that deal with the deposits formed by glaciers, is concerned; it also belongs to the geology
• The Historic glaciology, documenting the glacier history and the reconstruction of historical glacier training runs
• Other departments to investigate and ice effects of glaciers on climate, glaciers forecasts, the contribution of glaciers to the erosion, the life forms and habitats, underground ice deposits and others.
• Important methods of investigation relate, inter alia geodesy and photogrammetry, the Applied Geophysics ( impact and Geoseismik ) and meteorology.

In Germany, the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven is a leading proponent of Glaciology, along with the Commission for Glaciology in Munich ( Bavarian Academy of Sciences), and in Switzerland, ETH Zurich. In Austria, the University of Innsbruck, the University of Salzburg and the Alpine Club. Create Some Innsbruck Institute with the OeAV Glacier Monitoring Service annual report glacier. In many other countries, the subject is also dealt with by research institutes.

History

The "Cradle of Glaciology " was on the Unteraargletscher in the Bernese Oberland. There, the geologist Franz Joseph Hugi conducted his first studies. 1840 was there under Louis Agassiz first " research station " under a boulder, the Hotel des neuchâtelois. Documentation of the states of individual glaciers are collected in the Alps for over a hundred years.

On August 21, 1902, succeeded the glacier researchers Adolf Blümcke and Hans Hess of the Hintereisferner in Ötztal, after many failed attempts, the first time a borehole 153 m deep to drive down to the base of the glacier. The amount ranging from several thousand marks cost of the enterprise was supported by the German and Austrian Alpine Club.

The term ice age was introduced in 1837 by Karl Friedrich Schimper.

See also: shrinking glaciers, Global Warming, International Polar Year, IGY