Polar Glaciology

Abstract

Two fields of research on polar ice sheets are likely to be of dominant interest during the 1990s. These are: 1. The role of polar ice sheets in the hydrological cycle ocean-atmosphere-ice sheets-oceans, especially in relation to climate change. 2. The study and interpretation of material in deep ice cores to provide improved knowledge of past climates and of the varying levels of atmospheric constituents such as CO2, NO2, SO2, aerosols etc. over the past 200,000 years. Both topics require a better knowledge of ice dynamics.