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Geology 12 Presents. Outline: Chp 14 Mass Wasting (Landslides) Chp 15 Running Water Chp 16 Groundwater Chp 17 Glaciers and Glaciation Chp 18 Wind and Deserts. Glaciers and Glaciation. A: Introduction B: Glacial Erosion and Transport C: Glacial Deposits. Glaciers.
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Outline: • Chp 14 Mass Wasting (Landslides) • Chp 15 Running Water • Chp 16 Groundwater • Chp 17 Glaciers and Glaciation • Chp 18 Wind and Deserts
Glaciers and Glaciation A: Introduction B: Glacial Erosion and Transport C: Glacial Deposits
A: Introduction/Glaciers • Glacier: mass of ice composed of compacted snow and recrystallized snow flowing under its own weight under the force of gravity. • Move via: • plastic deformation below 40m just from the shear weight of ice. 2. basal slip: sometimes with the presence of melt water the glacier may slide.
Copy diagram Crevasse Total surface movement 40m Plastic deformation Basal slip
Types of Glaciers 1. Valley/Alpine Glaciers: confined to mountain valleys (yoodle leh) • Flow down hill • Few km wide by 10’s of km long by several 100 m thick • Ex: Alaskan Alpine Glaciers 2 km wide x 120 km long x 400 m thick ice
Types of Glaciers 2. Ice Sheets: BIG • Flow out horizontally in every direction from where the snow accumulates the most a) Continental Glaciers: • Largest: 100s of km long/wide by 3-5 km thick • Ex: Greenland, Antarctica (now) and N. Amer’ during the last ice age 25,000 yrs ago (most of Canada)
Types of Glaciers 2. Ice Sheets: b) Ice Caps • <50,000 km2 • Ex: Penny Ice Cap (Baffin Isld), Iceland, Spitsberg Isld. ice crust isostacy
Zone of accumulation • Glacial Movement Firn limit snow Zone of wastage Ice front ice Firn: pebbles of ice; intermediate stage between snow and ice
Glacial Movement • Firn: Pebbles of ice • Intermediate stage between snow and ice
Glacial Movement Glacial advance: when accumulation > wastage Glacial Retreat: when accumulation < wastage
Glacial Movement Glacial advance: when accumulation > wastage Glacial Retreat: when accumulation < wastage
Calving: process of producing icebergs. glacier ocean
B: Glacial Erosion & Transport • Weathering: a glacier is a combination of ice and rock (silt,sand, pebbles, boulders). The primary weathering is mechanical; ice/frost wedging (plucking or quarrying)
Glacial Eroded Landforms • Erosion: glaciers carry the sediment within the ice AND grind/polish bedrock via abrasion (rock within the ice grinds below the glacier). • The plucking and grinding creates the following landforms (become visible after the ice is gone):
1. Glacial Polish: smooth (shines in reflected light) bedrock.
2. Glacial Striations: hard rocks projecting below the ice cut grooves.
2. Big Grooves = Finger Lakes New York State
3. Roche Mountinee: (sheep rock) ice bedrock plucking
6. Arete: sharp ridge formed by 2 cirques Stop right there, thank you very much….”
7. Horn Arete Arete Arete cirque cirque