Seven basal ice facies have been defined on the basis of research at eleven glaciers in the western Alps. The concentration and texture of the debris incorporated in these facies are described. Grain-size distributions are characterised in terms of their: (i) mean size and dispersion, (ii) component Gaussian modes, and (iii) self-similarity.Firnified glacier ice contains low concentrations (≈0.2 g 1−1) of well-sorted and predominantly fine-grained debris that is not self-similar over the range of particle diameters assessed. In contrast, basal ice contains relatively high concentrations (≈4–4000 g 1−1 by facies) of polymodal (by size fraction against weight) debris, the texture of which is consistent with incorporation at the glacier bed. Analysis by grain-size against number of particles suggests that these basal facies debris textures are also self-similar. This apparent contradiction may be explained by the insensitivity of the assessment of self-similarity to variations in mass distribution. Comparison of typical size–weight with size–number distributions indicates that neither visual nor statistical assessment of the latter may be sufficiently rigorous to identify self-similarity.Apparent fractal dimensions may indicate the relative importance of fines in a debris distribution. Subglacially derived basal facies debris has a mean fractal dimension of 2.74. This value suggests an excess of fines relative to a self-similar distribution of cubes, which has a fractal dimension of 2.58. Subglacial sediments sampled from the forefield of Skalafellsjökull, Iceland, have fractal dimensions of 2.91 (A-horizon) and 2.81 (B-horizon). Debris from the A-horizon, which is interpreted as having been pervasively deformed, both most closely approaches self-similarity and has the highest fractal dimension of any of the sample groups analyzed.
Estimation of Strength of Rock Masses using the Self-similar Distribution of Discontinuities-An Application of Ladanyi's Theory to In-situ Rock Masses-
