Analyzing factors affecting glacier size
Andean Nevados during Winter (July) outside Cochabamba, Bolivia
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What does a post-glacial landscape look like?
Hanging Valley / U-shaped Valley – Valley glaciers carve U-shaped valleys, as opposed to the V-shaped valleys carved by rivers.
Arêtes – An arête is a thin, jagged crest that separates—or that once separated—two adjacent glaciers.
Horns – Horns are pointed peaks that are bounded on at least three sides by glaciers.
Cirques – Cirques are bowl-shaped, amphitheater-like depressions that glaciers carve into mountains and valley sidewalls at high elevations.
The following are deposition features of a glacier:
Moraines – Lateral and medial moraines consist of glacially-transported rock and debris. They form on the sides of glaciers (lateral moraines) or at the boundary between two tributary glaciers (medial moraines). Either way, they often mark the edges of an ice body.
Outwash Plains / Eskers– Outwash plains and eskers form due to the flow of meltwater in front of (outwash plains) or beneath (eskers) that glacier ice. They are composed of glacial sediments that
have been reworked by flowing water.
Drumlins –Drumlins are hills of sediment (generally a quarter of a mile or more in length) that have been streamlined by glacier flow.
Glaciers are described as the “Most Erosive Force in Nature”
What do you understand about glaciers from making observations and asking questions from this simulation?
What happens to the equilibrium line when variables are changed?
Describe the two things that could change in the glacier when temperature changes.
If the average annual snowfall increases (m/yr), what will happen to the glacier?
If the temperature is decreased and the snowfall is increased,
where does the equilibrium line move? Explain.
will the glacier advance or retreat?
in what way does the glaciers thickness change?
Interested in More? Check this out!
Interested in More? Check this out!
I will use one or more of these videos during lecture to highlight the structure and nature of glaciers, post-glacial landscapes, etc.
Aconcagua
Aconcagua
Mendoza Province, Argentina
Not a glacier, but the tallest mountain in the Western and Southern hemispheres. The valley where the lookout is located was carved by a great glacier in the past
Glacier Martial.MOVGlacier Martial
Glacier Martial
Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
El Calafaté, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
The last time a land bridge collapse was captured on video was in 2016 (below).
Magallanes Region, Chile
I observed so many glaciers during the O-Circuit. Learn more about the highlighted glaciers:
Dickson Glacier
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