Direct Observation of the Mechanism of Glacier Sliding over Bedrock

It has been demonstrated by direct observation in tunnels and by measurements of ice deformation in boreholes that an important mechanism in the flow of temperate glaciers is sliding of the ice over the bedrock at its base. Basal sliding or slip (R. P. Sharp, 1954, p. 826) normally accounts for the order of 50 per cent of the total surface velocity of typical valley glaciers in their thicker parts, the remainder being due to internal deformation within the ice (J. A. F. Gerrard, M. F. Perutz and A. Roch, 1952; J. G. McCall, 1952; W. H. Mathews, 1959; R. L. Shreve, 1961; J. C. Savage and W. S. B. Paterson, 1963).

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