The Opening of a New Landscape: Columbia Glacier at Mid–Retreat

"Tad Pfeffer presents a compelling portrait of one of North America′s most studied glaciers. Visually stunning and closely argued, this magni cent book provides valuable insights into the environmental consequences of future warming. The author dissects the anatomy of glaciers for general readers with articulate skill."
Brian Fagan, author of The Little Ice Age and The Great Warming

Dedication vi

Acknowledgments vii

Preface ix

Chapter 1: The Rhythm of Tidewater Glaciers: Advance and Retreat 1

Chapter 2: Discovering the Landscape: Early Explorations 13

Chapter 3: Discovering the Glacier: Physics Meets Earth Sciences 33

Chapter 4: The Glacier and its Landscape Above the fjord: The Upper Glacier 75

Bibliography 82

Appendix 86

W. Tad Pfeffer is a glaciologist and photographer, Fellow of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, and Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His research interests include the mechanics and dynamics of glaciers and heat and mass transfer in snow. He has worked on glaciers for 30 years, traveling to Alaska, Arctic Canada, Greenland, Antarctica, and mountain locations in North America and Europe.