Budd’s expressions for strain-rate gradient along the centre line of a bounded ice shelf are shown to be applicable only to ice shelves with almost constant thickness and very small longitudinal strain-rates. A general expression is derived for creep in an ice shelf where the sole restriction is that of zero shear stresses in vertical planes. This is applied to the two special cases:
(1)movement of an ice shelf restricted in at least one direction by sea-water pressure only;
(2)movement of an ice shelf flowing between roughly parallel sides.