3-1 Glaciers
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3-1 Glaciers | Sam Shock
Define a glacier (including the various sections) and how it is different from accumulated snowfall and
sea ice.
A Glacier is a thick ice mass that forms over thousands of years. The various sections of a glacier
include the main glacier, accumulation are which is the higher area, Ablation area which is the
lower area, and
the terminus is the middle of the glacier. Glaciers are made up of snowfall but
what makes them different is regular snow fall will melt in the summertime as it does on glaciers
as well but when a glacier is formed when the snowfall accumulates, compacts, and
recrystallizes. The difference between a glacier and sea ice is, sea ice forms from slaty ocean
water, where the glaciers are form from fresh water and snow. (Lutgens F.K et al. pg117,122-124)
Detail how glaciers advance and retreat, using the concept of glacial balance, and relate these aspects to
climate.
Glaciers move in two different ways plastic flow which involves movement withing the ice and
the second mechanism of glacial movement is when the ice mass slips along the ground which
happens mainly at the bottom of the glaciers. The glacial budget is determining if the glacier is
advancing, retreating, or remaining stationary. If the ice accumulation exceeds wastage the
glacier advances until it is balanced. If warming trend increases or snowfall decreases, it will
retreat. The glacier stays stationary when there is a balance of accumulation and wastage.
Glaciers are sensitive to changes in temperatures, due to climate change and global warming
many have been retreating and shrinking. (Lutgens F.K et al. pg 119-121)
Discuss the various types of glaciers and the critical parts of a glacier.
The types of glaciers include Valley, Alpine, Ice sheets, ice cap, piedmont, and outlet glaciers. The
critical parts of a glaciers are to accumulate, transport and deposit sediment. The two main
sections of an glaciers are accumulation area and an ablation area. Where the Accumulation
area collects snow adding mass to the glacier and ablation is when temperatures are warmer so
it melts also could be when it meets the ocean.
Explain the common erosional features (striations, cirques, etc.) of glaciation.
U-shaped valley is a valley formed by glacial erosion. It holds the amin glacier which is the main
glacier that all the tributary glaciers feed into.
Cirque is a blow shaped depression formed by ice wedging of an alpine glacier.
Arete is a sharp ridge that separates glacial ballies and cirques. Formed by glacial erosion.
Horn is a pointed peak were formed by the joining of aretes.
Truncated spur is a cut off end of on arete. It forms a triangle in the U-shaped valley.
Striations is long scratches and grooves formed on to the bed rock.
Review the common depositional features (moraines, eskers, etc.) of glaciation.
Moraines is deposits of unsorted sediment found at the middles(medial), sides(lateral), and end
of a glacier.
Kettles are pockmarked with basins or depressions at the end moraines, outwash plains, and
valley trains.
3-1 Glaciers | Sam Shock
Drumlines are streamlined asymmetrical hills composed of till.
Eskers are deposits made by steams flowing in tunnels within or beneath the ice.
Kames are steep-sided hill that are composed largely of stratified drifts.
Till is sediment transported by ice and deposited beneath, at the side, or at the toe of a glacier,
glacial till is unsorted because the solid ice of glaciers can carry clasts of all sizes.
Erratic are cobbles and boulders that have been dropped by glaciers.
Using images that you source, summarize the resultant landscapes of two glacially eroded and glacially
deposited areas.
The pictures below show all the glacially eroded areas you can see the U-shaped valley in the middle of
the picture right behind the rock, and the horns where the arete meet to form the peaks.
You can also
see the glacially deposited of the boulder in the front which is erratic and in the bottom picture you can
see the moraines deposits.
References
3-1 Glaciers | Sam Shock
Lutgens F. K., Tarbuck E. J., & Tasa D. G. (2016). Foundations of Earth Science. [MBS Direct]. Retrieved
from
https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134294827/
National Park & Preserve Alaska (November 28,2017). Anatomy of a Glacier.
https://www.nps.gov/glba/learn/nature/anatomy-of-a-glacier.htm
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