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Glacial geomorphology
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ambiguous term. The implication (p. 219) that ice at the snout of an advancing glacier must be highly active is untrue; a very inactive glacier may advance if its balance is positive. Part V, "Meltwater: a glacial subsystem", has chapters on meltwater as part of a glacier; meltwater erosion and its effects; and meltwater deposition. The authors purposely, and probably wisely, do not treat processes and landforms beyond the confines of the glacier (p. 10): in other words, their glaciofluvial features are ice-contact, and exclude valley trains and outwash plains. This must be borne in mind when reading (p. 325) that most pebbles in glaciofluvial deposits are not particularly far-travelled, and that the clasts are substantially less rounded than fluvial clasts; both statements are clearly untrue if applied, for instance, to the outwash deposits that extend far from the former ice fronts in the southern Andes or Southern Alps. All the above criticisms are minor and many reflect the prejudices of the reviewer. This book is a valuable and well thought out work that succeeds in its objective of bringing a glaciological emphasis to glacial geomorphology. It is well organized, clearly and interestingly presented and thus enjoyable to read, and in many places, it looks at problems from a refreshingly new viewpoint. The diagrams, most of which are new, are well chosen and executed, and the photographs, except for a few that are washed out, are well reproduced. The price (£5.95 paperback, £12.00 hardback), is reasonable. J. H. MERCER (Columbus, Ohio)
Glacial Geomorphology. Clifford Embleton and Cuchlaine A. M. King. Edward Arnold Publishers, London, 1975, 573 pp., £17.90 (paperback £8.95). Periglacial Geomorphology. Clifford Embleton and Cuchlaine A. M. King. Edward Arnold Publishers, London, 1975, 203 pp., £8.95 (paperback £4.50). These two books constitute the second edition of a single volume published in 1968. The separation is appropriate, for each section is expanded about 20%; furthermore, the subjects are somewhat disparate, and the combined volume would perhaps be too much (and the price too high) to serve as a textbook. The first volume might better have been entitled Glaciers and Glacial Geology, rather than simply Glacial Geomorphology. The first third of it is concerned with modern glaciers and the whole range of glaciological research from mass balance to flow theory. Because research on glaciers has progressed so rapidly in the last ten years, the book is particularly timely. About a third of the references in glaciology are new. The balance between descriptive and quantitative analysis is satisfactory. -
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ambiguous term. The implication (p. 219) that ice at the snout of an advancing glacier must be highly active is untrue; a very inactive glacier may advance if its balance is positive. Part V, "Meltwater: a glacial subsystem", has chapters on meltwater as part of a glacier; meltwater erosion and its effects; and meltwater deposition. The authors purposely, and probably wisely, do not treat processes and landforms beyond the confines of the glacier (p. 10): in other words, their glaciofluvial features are ice-contact, and exclude valley trains and outwash plains. This must be borne in mind when reading (p. 325) that most pebbles in glaciofluvial deposits are not particularly far-travelled, and that the clasts are substantially less rounded than fluvial clasts; both statements are clearly untrue if applied, for instance, to the outwash deposits that extend far from the former ice fronts in the southern Andes or Southern Alps. All the above criticisms are minor and many reflect the prejudices of the reviewer. This book is a valuable and well thought out work that succeeds in its objective of bringing a glaciological emphasis to glacial geomorphology. It is well organized, clearly and interestingly presented and thus enjoyable to read, and in many places, it looks at problems from a refreshingly new viewpoint. The diagrams, most of which are new, are well chosen and executed, and the photographs, except for a few that are washed out, are well reproduced. The price (£5.95 paperback, £12.00 hardback), is reasonable. J. H. MERCER (Columbus, Ohio)
Glacial Geomorphology. Clifford Embleton and Cuchlaine A. M. King. Edward Arnold Publishers, London, 1975, 573 pp., £17.90 (paperback £8.95). Periglacial Geomorphology. Clifford Embleton and Cuchlaine A. M. King. Edward Arnold Publishers, London, 1975, 203 pp., £8.95 (paperback £4.50). These two books constitute the second edition of a single volume published in 1968. The separation is appropriate, for each section is expanded about 20%; furthermore, the subjects are somewhat disparate, and the combined volume would perhaps be too much (and the price too high) to serve as a textbook. The first volume might better have been entitled Glaciers and Glacial Geology, rather than simply Glacial Geomorphology. The first third of it is concerned with modern glaciers and the whole range of glaciological research from mass balance to flow theory. Because research on glaciers has progressed so rapidly in the last ten years, the book is particularly timely. About a third of the references in glaciology are new. The balance between descriptive and quantitative analysis is satisfactory. -
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