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This is the first large-scale modelling study of iceberg trajectories and melt rates in the Southern Ocean. An iceberg model _ was seeded with climatological iceberg calving rates based on a calculation of the net surface accumulation from each snow catchment area on the Antarctic continent. In most areas modelled trajectories show good agreement with observed patterns of iceberg motion, though discrepancies in the Weddell Sea have highlighted problems in the ocean general circulation model output used to force the iceberg model. The Coriolis force is found to be important in keeping bergs entrained in the coastal current around Antarctica, and topographic features are important in causing bergs to depart from the coastal regions. The modelled geographic distribution of iceberg meltwater joining the ocean has been calculated, and is found in many near coastal regions to be comparable in magnitude to the excess of precipitation over evaporation (P-E). A remote sensing study of icebergs has been carried out in two locations in the Weddell Sea using SAR. This study has, for the first time, been able to calculate iceberg fluxes from satellite. The southwestwards flux of icebergs within 20 km of the coast at around 18°W, based on a one month period of observations, has been calculated at 50 to 70 Gta-1 (1Gt = 1012kg). This is 4 to 5% of the total iceberg discharge from Antarctica. The question of Antarctic mass balance is considered through comparison of modelresults and observations. Although a conclusion is not reached here, plans are presented for an iceberg observing programme and further model development which could resolve the problem

Stratigraphic studies of layers of volcanic ash, or tephra, in buried soils have been used to date accurately Holocene glacier fluctuations in Southern Iceland. 132 stratigraphic sections up to 11m deep, and containing up to 78 tephra layers, were logged to a resolution of 0.25cm. The chronological framework was completed with 12 radiocarbon dates, and by examing the association of the tephra stratigraphy with moraines representing former ice margins, a chronology of Holocene glacier fluctuations was constructed. The forelands of five glaciers were studied: Seljavallajokull, Gigjokull and Steinholtsjokull (outlets of Eyjafjallajokull) and Solheimajokull and Klifurarjokull (outlets of Myrdalsjokull). This study has shown for the first time that large glaciers existed in mid-Holocene Iceland because after 700 BP and before 4500 BP Solheimajokull extended at least 4km beyond its present limits, and terminated at less than 100m above sea level. Other major advances of this glacier culminated before 3100 BP, and between 1400-1200 BP. In the tenth century AD Solheimajokull was also longer than during the late Little Ice Age (1700-1900 AD). In contrast, Klifurarjokull and all the outlets of Eyjafjallajokull reached a maximum Holocene extent during the late Little Ice Age. It is proposed that the anomalous behaviour of Solheimajokull may be explained as a result of catchment changes caused by the growth of the Myrdalsjokull ice cap. The great human impact on the landscape since the Norse Settlement (c870-930 AD) has also been assessed as a result of the extensive study of the aeolian sediments lying between numerous, accurately dated tephra layers. These studies show that a zone of chronic soil erosion developed in the natural upland pastures immediately after the Norse Settlement and slowly swept down hill to reach lowlying areas during the last 400 years.

The objective of this study was to investigate the radio echo sounding properties of Svalbard glaciers and to use these data to obtain information about the glaciological environment. Particular emphasis was placed on obtaining an understanding of the dielectric properties of the ice and reflecting boundaries present. These were then used to elucidate the physical processes causing them. First, a theoretical model, describing the dielectric properties of a wet bed, was developed. The ice/bed interface was then investigated using, as the primary data source, radar reflection coefficients. From these data inferences about the presence of water and/or debris, roughness of the interface and geographical trends were made. A number of geological divides were detected. Second, the dielectric properties of Svalbard ice were considered using i) radio echo sounding data on the bulk in situ radar absorption and ii) measurements made on the dielectric properties of a sample of Spitsbergen ice. Data were collected between 20 Hz and 100 kHz in the temperature range -2.5 to -44.0C . From these and other data deductions about the thermal regime of the ice masses were made and a geographical trend, linked to the reflection coefficients, observed. The theory of dielectric absorption in ice was discussed with an emphasis on the high frequency, radio echo sounding characteristics. Third, the properties of an extraordinary internal reflecting horizon ( observed on 60% of the glaciers sounded in 1983) were investigated. A model was developed to describe the scattering properties of inhomogeneities ( of arbitrary size) within ice. Using this, and data on the re:flec~ing properties of the horizons, they were attributed to the presence of a finite quantity of water. The implications of this finding were considered. Finally, the surface and, where available, bedrock profiles of 40 glaciers and six ice caps, in Spitsbergen, were presented.

Fluvial morphosedimentary records surrounding the Orjen massif, western Montenegro, have been studied to investigate the response of Mediterranean river systems to Pleistocene glaciation. A range of depositional contexts, across 12 sites, have been analysed, including: terraced alluvial valley fills, poljes and alluvial fans. These sites include both ice marginal contexts and more distal locations. It can be argued that these settings are broadly representative of the depositional environments found within glaciated upland catchments across the Mediterranean, and especially those in limestone landscapes. The timing of fluvial activity has been constrained using detailed stratigraphical analysis, 35 U-series dates, calcite micromorphology, and soil profile analysis. The fluvial record is fragmentary but is in good agreement with the Pleistocene glacial history of the Orjen massif, developed by Hughes et al. (2010).Two main phases of Pleistocene fluvial sedimentation have been identified in the morphosedimentary record. The most extensive phase of fluvial aggradation is correlated to MIS 12 (Kotorska-Sušica Member) and is characterised by the infilling of large depocentres beyond the maximum MIS 12 ice margins. These deposits dominate the fluvial record. The next recorded phase of fluvial deposition is correlated to MIS 6 (Krivošije Member) and contains only limited evidence of fluvial activity. No morphosedimentary evidence for fluvial deposition in MIS 5d-2 has yet been observed in the study area. An analysis of published studies shows that the Pleistocene glacial and fluvial archives are highly fragmentary across the Mediterranean basin. The limestone karst terrain of Mount Orjen has exerted an important influence on sediment delivery and the meltwater pathways draining the Orjen ice cap over successive glacial cycles. Evidence suggests that, since MIS 12, sediment supply to the fluvial system has declined in accord with the decreasing magnitude of glaciation and subterranean karst flows havebecome increasingly dominant over surface flows. As ice volume and extent decreased in the cold stages following MIS 12, the Pleistocene glacial and surface fluvial systems became progressively decoupled. Two types of surface meltwater routes operated during MIS 12: Type 1 – steep sided limestone bedrock gorges; and Type 2 - alluvial channels draining directly from the ice margin. These contrasting pathways are associated with distinctive sedimentological signatures both at the macro-scale and within the fine (<63µm) matrix fraction This study provides one of the first attempts to directly correlate Pleistocene glacial and fluvial records – and to consider the process interactions – in a range of depositional contexts at the landscape scale.