1 / 12

GLACIERS

GLACIERS. CGF3M Nov. 5, 2013. What is a Glacier? . A Glacier is a mass of ice with the following characteristics: It extends at least 1/10 th of a sq. km It originates on land it moves, or shows evidence of having moved. About 10% of the Earth’s surface is covered by ice.

zarita
Download Presentation

GLACIERS

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. GLACIERS CGF3M Nov. 5, 2013

  2. What is a Glacier? A Glacier is a mass of ice with the following characteristics: • It extends at least 1/10th of a sq. km • It originates on land • it moves, or shows evidence of having moved. About 10% of the Earth’s surface is covered by ice.

  3. 18 000 years ago… During the last ice age, 30% of the Earth’s surface was covered by ice.

  4. 3 Types of Glaciers • Continental Glaciers- (Ice Sheets) • these are the largest on Earth. • Found only in Antarctica and Greenland • contain 95% of theEarth’s ice • Ice caps are smaller than Continental Glaciers • The Antarctic Glacier covers an area larger than the US and Mexico combined!

  5. 3 Types of Glaciers 2. Ice Shelves • Are attached to land but float on water • Can extend hundreds of kms from land • Up to 1 km thick

  6. 3 Types of Glaciers 3. Alpine Glaciers • Occur at high elevations in mountainous regions • smallest type of glacier • There are several in Albertaand BC. Here is a pictureof Victoria Glacier in LakeLouise, AB.

  7. What Role do Glaciers Play in the Water Cycle? • Store 75% of the world’s fresh water • Release some water as they melt, transporting it to watersheds

  8. How do Glaciers Form? Glaciers are formed from snow, over hundreds of years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cBcMfaSxpk Firn- transition between snow and ice Accumulation- rate at which the glacier is growing Ablation- rate at which the glacier is shrinking

  9. Surging Glacier in Alaska

  10. Terminology • When a glacier flows rapidly, giant cracks called crevasses form. • As a glacier moves, it collects debris and carries it along or deposits it at the base of the glacier. This is called a moraine.

  11. Calving- when large pieces of ice break off an ice shelf and create icebergs • The largest recorded iceberg (it broke off the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica) was 11 655 sq. kms- the size of Jamaica! • See the largest witnessed calving in action in Greenland… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC3VTgIPoGU

  12. Antarctica • Read the article and explain what is happening to the Antarctic Ice Shelf

More Related