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Glaciers
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Glaciers Slightly more than 2 percent of the world’s water is tied up in glaciers Antarctic ice sheet Eighty percent of the world’s ice Nearly two-thirds of Earth’s fresh water Covers almost one and one-half times the area of the United States If melted, sea level would rise 60 to 70 meters
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Glaciers Valley (alpine) glaciers Ice sheets
Glacier – a thick mass of ice that originates on land from the accumulation, compaction, and recrystallization of snow Two types of Glaciers: Valley (alpine) glaciers Ice sheets
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Valley Glaciers Exist in mountainous areas
Flows down a valley from an accumulation center at its head
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Valley Glaciers
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Ice Sheets Exist on a larger scale than valley glaciers
Two major ice sheets on Earth are over Greenland and Antarctica
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Ice Sheets Often called continental ice sheets
Ice flows out in all directions from one or more snow accumulation centers
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Continental Glacier
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Formation of a Glacier In order for a Glacier to form there needs to be an imbalance in the rate of precipitation and the rate of melting Balance, or lack of balance, between accumulation at the upper end of the glacier, and loss at the lower end is referred to as the glacial budget
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Glacial Budget If accumulation exceeds loss (called ablation), the glacial front advances If ablation and/or accumulation decreases, the ice front will retreat
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Formation of a Glacier Two important zones: Zone of accumulation – the area where a glacier forms Zone of wastage – the area where there is a net loss to the glacier due to
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Zone of Wastage Melting
Two Processes take place: Melting Calving – the breaking off of large pieces of ice (icebergs where the glacier has reached the sea)
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Valley Glaciers
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Formation of Glacial Ice
Air infiltrates snow Snowflakes become smaller, thicker, and more spherical Air is forced out
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Formation of Glacial Ice
Snow is recrystallized into a much denser mass of small grains called firn Once the thickness of the ice and snow exceeds 50 meters, firn fuses into a solid mass of interlocking ice crystals – glacial ice
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Formation of Glacial Ice
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Movement of Glaciers Two Types of movement: Plastic Flow Basal Slip
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Plastic Flow Occurs within the ice
Under pressure, ice behaves as a plastic material - below 50ft
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Basal Slip Entire ice mass slipping along the ground
Most glaciers are thought to move this way by this process
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Movement of Glaciers What happens between the surface and a depth
of 50 ft? Less Pressure Ice does not behave plastically (does not flow) At shallow depths ice is brittle. Tension from the movement of the more plastic ice below cause cracks to form in the surface. These cracks are called Crevasses
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Movement of Glaciers
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Rate of movement Rates of up to several meters per day
Average velocities vary considerably from one glacier to another Rates of up to several meters per day Some glaciers exhibit extremely rapid movements called surges
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Glaciers
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Glacial Erosion Glaciers erode the land in two ways: Plucking Abrasion
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Glacial Erosion Abrasion produces: Rock Flour (Pulverized rock)
Glacial Striations (Grooves or scratches in bedrock)
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Glacial Erosion Erosional features of glaciated valleys Glacial trough
Truncated spurs Hanging valleys
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Hanging Valley
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Glacial Erosion Landforms created by Glacial Erosion Cirques Aretes
Horns Pater noster lakes
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Glacial Deposits Drift - sediment deposited by glaciers
Types of Glacial Drift: Till - material deposited directly by the ice Stratified Drift - sediments deposited by melt water
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Landforms made of Till Moraines - Layers or ridges of till
Lateral Moraine Medial Moraine Terminal Moraine (End Moraine)
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Landform made of till
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Glacial Deposits
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Landforms made of Till Drumlins Smooth, elongated, parallel hills
Steep side faces the direction from which the ice advanced Occur in clusters called drumlin fields Formation not fully understood
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Drumlin
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Stratified Drift Landforms made of stratified drift
Outwash plains (with ice sheets) and valley trains (when in a valley) Broad ramp-like surface composed of stratified drift deposited by meltwater leaving a glacier Located adjacent to the downstream edge of most end moraines Often pockmarked with depressions called kettles
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Stratified Drift Ice-contact deposits:
Deposited by meltwater flowing over, within, and at the base of motionless ice Features include Kames Eskers
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LI Glacial History
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Evidence of LI Glacial Hist.
Terminal Moraines/ Recessional Moraine Harbor Hills Moraine Ronkonkoma Moaraine Kettle Lakes & Kettle holes Lake Ronkonkoma Kettle Hole Park Kames Bald Hill Outwash Plains LI South shore
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