glaciology

Noun

glaciology (countable and uncountable, plural glaciologies)

1. The study of ice and its effect on the landscape, especially the study of glaciers.
   • From this high position in latitude, explorations (furthered for a time by the effective aid of their Esquimaux dogs) were perseveringly made, and rewarded by results of the most interesting nature in geography, hydrography, and glaciology.1856, W. S.-Y., “Greenland”, in Thomas Stewart Traill, editor, The Encyclopædia Britannica, or Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, 8th edition, volume XI, Edinburgh: Adam and...
   • Until now, aerial photography had been used in glaciology only for mapping the glacier surface and the surface velocity field; other, much more expensive, methods have been used to determine the bed and mass balance.1989, L. A. Rasmussen, “Discussion”, in Surface Velocity Variations of the Lower Part of Columbia Glacier, Alaska, 1977–1981 (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper; 1258-H), Washington, D.C....