The International Glaciological Society (IGS) was founded in 1936 to provide a focus for individuals interested in

glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climato ...

, practical and scientific aspects of

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

and

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

. It was originally known as the "Association for the Study of Snow and Ice". The name was changed to the "British Glaciological Society" in 1945. With more and more non-British glaciologists attending its readings and submitting papers for publication, the name was changed to the "Glaciological Society" in 1962 and finally the Society acquired its present name in 1971. The IGS publishes the ''Journal of Glaciology'', ''Annals of Glaciology'' and ''ICE'', the news bulletin of the IGS; the ''Journal of Glaciology'' won the

ALPSP The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) is an international trade association of non-profit publishers created in 1972. It is the largest association of scholarly and professional publishers in the world, with nearl ...

/Charlesworth Award for the "Best Learned Journal of 2007".

Branches

The Society has branches in different parts of the world, providing a further opportunity for those sharing a common interest to meet and exchange information: * British Branch (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) * Nordic branch * Northeastern North American Branch * Polish Branch * Western Alpine branch * New Zealand branch

Awards

The Seligman Crystal

The Society honours glaciologists who have contributed significantly to the science of glaciology. At a Council meeting in Obergurgl, Austria in late 1962, the concept of an award for excellence in the discipline of glaciology took shape: not a gold medal but a hexagonal crystal of high-quality glass named the

Seligman Crystal The Seligman Crystal is an award of the International Glaciological Society. The prize is "awarded from time to time to one who has made an outstanding scientific contribution to glaciology so that the subject is now enriched" and named after Ger ...

, after the Society's founder, Gerald Seligman. It is awarded 'from time to time to one who has made an outstanding scientific contribution to glaciology so that the subject is now enriched.'

The Richardson Medal

The Richardson Medal was created in 1993 to mark the retirement of the Secretary General, Mrs Hilda Richardson. This award recognises outstanding contributions to the Society and to glaciology, and is normally awarded to members. Awardees include: * 1993 - Hilda Richardson * 1997 - D R MacAyeal * 1998 - G K C Clarke * 2000 - J A Heap * 2003 - C S L Ommanney * 2010 - T H Jacka * 2012 - W S B (Stan) Paterson * 2013 - J W Glen and A Weidick * 2016 - E M Morris and T Chinn * 2017 - J M Palais * 2018 - J Oerlemans * 2020 -

Christina Hulbe Christina Hulbe is an American Antarctic researcher, and serves as professor and Dean of Surveying at the University of Otago in New Zealand. She was previously Chair of the Geology Department at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. ...

and

Eric Wolff Eric William Wolff, FRS (born 5 June 1957) is a British climatologist, glaciologist, and academic. Since 2013, he has been Royal Society Research Professor of Earth Sciences in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Ho ...

Honorary Membership

Honorary Membership is the oldest of the Society's awards. It was first officially recorded in the 1962 Constitution, when the name of the Society changed from “the British Glaciological Society” to “the Glaciological Society”. (Prior to that date, a few eminent persons had been made ''Honorary Members'' on an informal and ad hoc basis.). There shall not exceed twelve in number. The following are Honorary Members: * G K C Clarke * J W Glen * V M Kotlyakov * G Østrem * G Wakahama * Yang Zhenniang * K Higuchi See also *

Ukichiro Nakaya was a Japanese physicist and science essayist known for his work in glaciology and low-temperature sciences. He is credited with making the first artificial snowflakes. Life and research Nakaya was born near the Katayamazu hot springs in Kaga ...

References

External links

International Glaciological Society
British Antarctic Survey Earth sciences societies Geographic societies Glaciology International learned societies Organisations based in Cambridge Science and technology in Cambridgeshire {{glaciology-stub