The Physics of Ice — E. R. Pounder, First Edition, 1965

E. R. Pounder — Pergamon Press, 1965. First Edition, hardcover.

Published at the dawn of serious polar science, Pounder's The Physics of Ice arrived as the Cold War was driving unprecedented interest in Arctic and Antarctic research. The International Geophysical Year (1957–58) had just mobilized scientists from 67 nations to study the polar regions, and ice — its structure, mechanics, and thermodynamics — had become a subject of urgent strategic and scientific importance. Pounder, a leading glaciologist at McGill University, produced the definitive English-language treatment of ice physics at exactly this moment: a rigorous, data-rich monograph that synthesized decades of crystallographic, thermal, and mechanical research into a single authoritative volume. It remains a foundational reference in glaciology and polar science, and a first edition is a genuine rarity.

Topics Covered

• Crystal structure and lattice properties of ice
• Mechanical properties: elasticity, creep, and fracture
• Thermal and electrical properties
• Sea ice formation, structure, and dynamics
• Optical properties and light scattering
• Glaciological applications and field observations

An essential acquisition for collectors of polar science literature, glaciologists, and anyone captivated by the physics of the natural world at its most extreme.