651-3561-00L  Cryosphere

SemesterAutumn Semester 2020
LecturersM. Huss, A. Bauder, D. Farinotti
Periodicityyearly recurring course
Language of instructionGerman


AbstractThe course introduces the different components of the cryosphere - snow, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice and lake ice, and permafrost - and their respective roles in the climate system. For each subsystem, essential physical aspects are emphasized, and their dynamics are described quantitatively and using examples.
ObjectiveStudents are able to
- qualitatively explain relevant processes, feedbacks and relationships between the different components of the cryosphere,
- quantify and interpret physical processes, which determine the state of the cryospheric components, with simple calculations.
ContentThe course provides an introduction into the various components of the cryosphere: snow, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice and lake ice, permafrost, and their roles in the climate system. Essential physical aspects are emphasized for each subsystem: e.g. the material properties of ice, mass balance and dynamics of glaciers, or the energy balance of sea ice.
Lecture notesHandouts will be distributed during the teaching semester
LiteratureBenn, D., & Evans, D. J. (2014). Glaciers and glaciation. Routledge.
Cuffey, K. M., & Paterson, W. S. B. (2010). The physics of glaciers. Academic Press.
Hooke, R. L. (2019). Principles of glacier mechanics. Cambridge University Press.

Further literature will be indicated during the lecture.