Field and Theory: Lectures in Geocryology - Tapa dura

Geographers of all stripes would do well to read this clearly written, informed, and sensitive piece. MacKay's consistently scholarly approach to pure and applied aspects of this important and extremely complex aspect of the earth sciences is an example and inspiration to us all. -- W. Peter Adams * Canadian Geographer * Overall this is a most welcome addition to the geocryological literature and one which is likely to have given Ross MacKay particular pleasure. -- Peter Worsley * Modern Geology *

This collection of papers by internationally known scientists in thefield of geocryology was originally presented as a series of lecturesat the University of British Columbia in 1980-1 in honour of J. RossMacKay. Together they illustrate the central dilemma in a science wherefieldwork must be undertaken in the harsh periglacial environment andwhere, consequently, it is difficult to test theory rigorously. Thepapers provide a valuable overview of the current status ofinternational research in a wide area of the field -- permafrost,patterned ground, and cold climate phenomena and processes. Thetreatment varies from anecdotal, historical, and descriptive tomathematical.