Glaciers: Part 1
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Transcript Glaciers: Part 1
Mysterious rock
formations…….
What could have caused
these formations?
GLACIERS!!!!!
Evidence for Glaciers
Erratics
Unsorted
material
Striations
Polished
Bedrock
Erratic
Erratic
Boulder-sized rock
dumped by a
glacier
Rock is different
type than
surrounding rocks
Unsorted
Materialsall sizes
mixed
together.
Striations
Chatter marks
(Maine)
Striations/ Chatter marks
Grooves carved
into bedrock
Formed by
abrasive action of
cobbles and
pebbles carried at
bottom of glacier
Direction of
scratches shows
direction glacier
moved
Glacial polish
Smooth rock
surfaces
Created as glaciers
flow over bedrock
Glacial Pavement….
What does a glacier look like?
What conditions are necessary for
glacial formation?
Cold
Summers!!
Located above the snow line, or in
polar regions.
Presently occupy 10 % of world’s total
land area (32% during ICE AGES)
Form on all continents BUT Australia
Process of Glacier Formation
Snow
does NOT melt in summer
Recrystallization of snow to form LARGE
crystals of ice (rough and granular)
–called FIRN: liked packed snowballs
Lower layers turn to SOLID ICE under the
weight of overlying firn and snow.
Snow becomes Firn
Glaciers: Types
VALLEY GLACIERS:
long, slow-moving,
wedge-shaped
streams of ice
Bordered by
mountains
Size varies*
small= 1-2 km long, 100’s m wide, 100’s m
deep*
largest = Over 100km’s long X 100’s m deep
CONTINENTAL
GLACIER (ICE
SHEETS):
very old (1000’s of years) and thick
(1000’s of meters)
Not confined by mountains
Examples:
GREENLAND: 1.7 million square miles, 2
miles thick
ANTARCTICA: 12.5 million square miles, 3
miles thick
Features associated with
valley (alpine) glaciers
Original valley
(V-shaped)
Glaciers come
and alter
landforms
Glaciers retreat
and new
features appear
Landscape FeaturesValley Glaciers
CIRQUES:
semi-circular shaped bedrock feature
created as a glacier scours back toward the mountain
ARÊTES:
steep-sided, sharp-edged bedrock ridge
formed by two glaciers eroding away on
opposite sides of a ridge
TARNS:
glacial lakes
produced by glacial scouring
often found in cirques
CIRQUE
TARN
HORNS:
3 or more cirques adjacent to one
another
Hanging Valley
ARÊTE
U-SHAPED
VALLEY
CIRQUE
HANGING
VALLEY
U-shaped valley
CONTINENTAL GLACIERS
FEATURES
Lateral moraine
MORAINES:
material left behind
when glacier recedes
When glacier retreats (melts) rock and
sediments are dropped behind
Long Island, Cape Cod and the islands are
part of a terminal moraine
Kettle Lake
Drumlins
Esker
Till
Moraine-dammed
lake
Terminal Moraine
Glacial
Stream
Drumlin
drumlins
Kettle Lakes
River in glacier
carries sediment
Glacier melts
Drops sediment
Esker results
Eskers