Question: These two photos were taken from the same place 63 years apart. How are they alike? How are they different?
Opening : Streambed Demonstration How does water contribute to erosion? How does gravity contribute to erosion?
Ag Upsala Glacier, South America
Grinnell Glacier, Montana
South Cascade Glacier, Washington
MYP Unit Question: How does land change? Area of Interaction: Environment Learner Profile: Caring and Principled
Standard: Investigate the scientific view of how the Earth’s surface is formed. Learning Target: Today I am learning about erosion by ice and wind because I will know how to protect my mountain house or beach house.
Erosion by Ice A glacier is a huge mass of ice and snow that moves over land. It erodes and deposits large amounts of rock material. p
How glaciers form Glaciers form in very cold areas. The snow piles up year after year. Over time, the weight of the snow packs the snow and forms a giant mass of ice. Gravity causes them to flow slowly like a “river of ice”
Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on the planet, storing an estimated 75 percent of the world’s supply
A glacier can range in length from the equivalent of a football field to more than 100 miles.
The Antarctic ice sheet is actually a glacier. If it were to melt, sea levels would rise 210 feet NASA image of Antartica taken from space
Though it sits on the equator, Mount Kilimanjaro is glaciated
A single glacier ice crystal can grow to be as large as a baseball
Mountain valleys are typically “V” shaped before being taken oven by a glacier; during glaciation, the valley widens and deepens and becomes “U” shaped.
Alaska is estimated to have more than 100,000 glaciers. Most remain unnamed.
Erosion by Wind Wind carries and deposits sediment. Deserts, coastlines, and areas with little plant coverage are the most affected by wind erosion. p
Sand dunes at the beach
leeward windward Piles of sand deposited by wind - Leeward side has a steeper slope
Sand Dunes in the desert
Barchan dunes of the Namib Desert Crescent shaped dunes formed from a unidirectional ( one-direction ) wind.
Ripple marks are miniature dunes within a dune (not more than 2 inches tall). Formed by cross winds and appear to be traveling in a different direction than the large dune.
The Dust Bowl of the 1930s
Rock formations in the Wadi Desert in Egypt
Formed when wind and water weather (erode) softer material first.
Wind carries fine particles that work like a sand blaster (i.e. sand, silt, clay, and ice particles)
Formed in arid environments when wind carries finer, more lightweight particles such as sand away. Large particles are left behind and protect from further erosion
Yellowish, fine grained silt and clay sized particles formed by glaciers millions of years ago; carried and deposited by wind.
Base of a rock is weathered and eroded more quickly due to sand blasting. Sand grains can only be picked up a couple of feet.