Cochise College
Student Papers in
Geology
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Roger
Weller, geology instructor
wellerr@cochise.edu
Glaciers
Zenia Franco
April 26, 2005
Instructor: Mr. Weller
Glaciers
“Glaciers are large masses of ice,
resting on land or floating shelf like in the sea adjacent to
land”(Sandberg). Glaciers are made up of
many years of snow, ice, rock, sediment, and water. They are composed of ice, which is one of
nature’s most beautiful and elegant substances and can form in the atmosphere
as snow (Sandberg). Most glaciers are found at the poles, but glaciers exist on
all of the world's continents, even
“Glaciers form when yearly snowfall in
a region far exceeds the amount of snow and ice that melts in a given summer.
In this way, massive quantities of material accumulate in relatively small
periods of geologic time” (“What are Glaciers?”). Snowfall is the first step in
the formation of glacier ice. As snow
builds up, snowflakes are packed into grains.
The weight of the overlying snow causes the grains below to become
coarser. Melted snow quickly refreezes
forming ice. Snow change and how much time it takes to develop into glacier ice
depends on the temperature. In an area where there is more snowfall than summer
snow melt, perennial snow patches appear in the mountains and remain at the end
of summer. Glaciers can form in areas
where summer temperatures are too low for all of the snow to melt. A glacier
covered with snow throughout the year is called, Neve. This term refers to the
accumulation area at the upper end of a glacier. Glaciologists land their
planes in this area, as it is relatively safe from crevassing.
There are three types of glaciers; ice
sheets, ice shelves, and ice caps. Ice
sheets are located in Antarctica and
Cirques
glaciers, valley glaciers, tidewater glaciers, piedomont glaciers, and ice
aprons are all different types of mountain glaciers. Cirques are bowls or basin carved out of a
mountain. They are very short in relation to their width. Valley glaciers are
shaped like tongues of ice. They are found in high altitudes. They can flow
downwards from cirques, ice caps, highland ice fields, or ice sheets. Two examples of valley glaciers are Bering
and Hubbard Glaciers. They are the longest in
Glacier
landforms can form by two processes. One form is erosion, a process by which material is worn away by
the earth. Alpine glaciers
usually create erosional landforms. The second process by which glacier
landforms are formed is by deposition, the
laying down of matter by a natural process. The types of glacier
landforms that can be created by erosion are fjords, glaciated valleys, arętes,
cirques, horns, and tarns. The
landforms created by deposition are tills, moraines, kettles, boulders,
drumlins, and kames. Both, erosion and deposition can produce
distinctive landforms (“What are Glaciers?”).
Glaciers
originate on land and move down slope under the influence of its own weight and
gravity. Glaciers change and move and they are also known as solid rivers or
(“rivers of ice”). They are known as
this because glaciers actually flow. Gravity is the cause of glacier
motion. The ice slowly flows and changes
in response to gravity. A glacier molds
itself to the land and also molds the land as it creeps down the valley. Many
glaciers slide on their beds, which enable them to move faster. Rock that falls onto the glacier’s surface is
incorporated into the glacier and erodes the bed, forming sediment. The glacier and its load of rock debris flow
down-valley (“All About Glaciers”). A glacier discharges snow from its
accumulation area. Sometimes, in places with cold climates with a lot of snow
such as
Glaciers can advance or retreat. Glaciers advance when more snow and ice are
added than lost through the processes of calving, melting, or evaporation. They
will retreat if less snow and ice are added than are lost. There are three
zones to a glacier. The first zone is where snow is added to the glacier and
begins to turn to ice. This is known as the accumulation zone (input) (What are
Glaciers?”). In this zone the glacier gains snow and ice in the upper region of
the glacier. Water then seeps through
accumulated snow and gradually forms horizontal “ice lenses” and vertical
“glands. Eventually, the whole mass
compresses into a deep bed of dense ice .The ice flows like a conveyor belt
driven by gravity ever mounting snows.
The second zone is the ablation zone (output), where the glacier loses
ice through the processes of calving, melting, and evaporation. In this zone, the glacier loses ice in the
lower region of the glacier (“What are Glaciers?”). Then meltwater flows out to the terminus
through hidden channels and tunnels. The oldest ice is the deepest. The third
zone is the equilibrium line. The equilibrium line divides the two areas. This
spot is like an old-fashioned pair of scales used to weigh gold dust. If the
glacier’s scale, or budget is balanced with enough new ice added to replace the
loss, the glacier is stable with little advance or retreat. If the balance is
tipped, the glacier shifts and either advances or retreats. Glaciers can move
by ice flow. Ice flow is when glaciers move by internal deformation and sliding
at the base. The ice in the middle of the glacier flows faster than the ice
along the sides of the glacier. Glacier bed is another way in which they can
move. Glacier bed is when glaciers move
by sliding over bedrock or underlying gravel and rock debris. With the increased pressure in the glacier,
and its weight the individual ice grains slide past one another and the ice
moves slowly downhill. The sliding if the glacier over its bed is called the
basal slip. Water lubrication is crucial to either process (Sandberg).
Glacial ice is a different color than
regular ice. Glacier ice usually looks blue. It is so blue because the “dense
ice of the glacier absorbs every other color of the spectrum except blue--so
blue is what we see. Sometimes glacial
ice can appear almost turquoise. Its crystalline
structure strongly scatters blue light”. The ice on a glacier has been there
for a really long time and has been compacted downs so that its structure is
pretty different than the ice you normally see (Sandberg).
Glaciers also
support life. As glaciers shift and
change the face of the earth with their giant hands, they delicately support
some of the tiniest creatures alive.
Glaciers create unusual environments sensitive to the animal kingdom’s
need for existence. One life form that a
glacier supports is a glacier flea. They
are small black wingless springtail bugs. They live in firn on glaciers. Another life form is an ice worm. These worms feed on algae and pollen, as they
thrive in the old temperatures of glaciers (“Sandberg”).
Glaciers require very specific
geographical and climatic conditions.
Most are found in regions of high snowfall in winter and cool
temperatures in summer. These conditions
assure that the snow accumulating in the winter remains throughout the summer.
Typically, such conditions prevail in the polar and high alpine regions. The amount of precipitation is important to
glacial survival. In areas such as Siberia and parts of
“Glaciers are large masses of snow,
recrystallized ice and rock debris that accumulate in great quantities and
begin to flow outwards and downwards under the pressure of their own weight”
(“What are Glaciers?”). Each glacier is different in its own special way.
Glaciers are a wonder of nature. They
are massive and incredibly powerful.
Glaciers can carve out the land and change landscapes. They are powerful moving wonders. They can
even be disastrous like the glacier that conquered the Titanic.
Picture of the Anatomy of a Glacier:
Photo and points below from the “All
About Glaciers” website
1 The accumulation (input) zone is where a glacier gains snow and
ice through snowfall and compression. Ice begins to flow like a conveyor belt,
driven by gravity and ever mounting snows.
2 In the lower
region, or ablation (output) zone, the glacier loses ice through melting
and evaporation. Older ice is carried down to greater and greater depth.
3 An equilibrium line divides the two
areas. This spot is like an old fashioned pair of scales used to weigh gold
dust. Advancing ice scrapes and grinds the bedrock, boulders, and gravel
beneath it and pushes a ridge of terminal moraine in front.
4 Advancing ice
scrapes and grinds the bedrock, boulders, and gravel beneath it and pushes a
ridge of terminal moraine in front.
5 Another, or tributary, glacier sometimes joins the
main flow, adding another strip of lateral moraine debris. The two lateral moraines combine to form a single
medial moraine, which now extends down the middle of the glacier towards the
snout.
6 When two
lateral moraines combine, they form a single medial moraine, which extends down the middle of the glacier towards the
snout. When medial moraines come close to one another near the terminus, a
glacier may look multicolored or striped.
7 Glacier ice
melts and fractures, and the sea often batters it. Finally, chunks of ice break
off as icebergs in a process called calving,
which balances the flow of ice from behind.
8 Near the
terminus(end) of a glacier, its surface thins and stretches and breaks into a
mosaic of crevasses.
9 Meltwater flows through hidden
channels and tunnels.
10 Snow to Ice:
Water seeps through accumulated snow and gradually forms horizontal "ice
lenses" and vertical "glands." Eventually, the whole mass
compresses into a deep bed of dense ice.
11 Ice Flow:
Bending of a vertical bore hole
12 Glacier Bed:
Glaciers move by sliding over bedrock or underlying gravel and rock debris.
With the increased pressure because of the weight, the individual ice grains
slide past one another and the ice moves slowly downhill. Water lubrication is
crucial to either process. The sliding of the glacier over its bed is called basal slip.
Work
Cited
“All About Glaciers”. 15 Mar. 2005.
http://www.uvm.edu/whale//GlaciersWhatAre.html.
Sandberg, Donna. “Glacial Power”. 15 Mar. 2005.
http://www.asf.alaska.edu/2222/intro_begin.html.
“What are Glaciers” 12 Mar. 2005.
http://inside.org/glaciers/index.html.