Field work is an essential part of glaciology. Within glaciology, we separate between field work, which mainly takes place at or above the surface, and methods, which employ drilling and analysis techniques for ice cores. The latter are per se a very broad field and are explained in more detail under Ice core research.

Likewise, there is a transition from airborne techniques towards satellite remote sensing. In summary, the field glaciology considers measurement methods from the areas of glaciology, geophysics, geodesy and employs them on glaciers, ice sheets, shelves and streams. The image below represents a schematic cross section through an ice sheet and illustrates typical measurement properties in glaciology.