science

International Glaciological Society

International Glaciological Society is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand International Glaciological Society rather than just read about it. In short: The International Glaciological Society (IGS) was founded in 1936 to provide a focus for individuals interested in glaciology, practical and scientific aspects of snow and ice. It was originally known as the "Association for the Study of Snow and Ice".

Key takeaways

International Glaciological Society belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect International Glaciological Society to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of International Glaciological Society from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The International Glaciological Society (IGS) was founded in 1936 to provide a focus for individuals interested in glaciology, practical and scientific aspects of snow and ice. 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/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) 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, 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 and Eric Wolff 2021 - Regine Hock 2022 - The ISMIP6 team 2023 - Tavi Murray 2024 - Bethan Davies 2025 - Magnus Már Magnússon

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

See also International Association of Cryospheric Sciences

References

External links International Glaciological Society

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with International Glaciological Society

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what International Glaciological Society claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to International Glaciological Society before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about International Glaciological Society ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of International Glaciological Society

In research: International Glaciological Society appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses International Glaciological Society in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: International Glaciological Society is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics British Antarctic Survey, Earth sciences societies, Geographic societies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for International Glaciological Society outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study International Glaciological Society in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what International Glaciological Society means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain International Glaciological Society out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is International Glaciological Society in simple terms?

Why does International Glaciological Society matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study International Glaciological Society?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on International Glaciological Society.