Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, 10e Tarbuck & Lutgens 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glaciers and Glaciation Earth, 10e - Chapter 18 Stan Hatfield Southwestern Illinois College
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glaciers Glaciers are parts of two basic cycles: 1. Hydrologic cycle 2. Rock cycle
A glacier is a thick mass of ice that originates on land from the accumulation, compaction, and recrystallization of snow. 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Glaciers Types of glaciers Valley (alpine) glaciers Exist in mountainous areas Flow down a valley from an accumulation center at its head Ice sheets Exist on a larger scale than valley glaciers
Two major ice sheets on Earth are over Greenland and Antarctica. 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Taku Glacier Near Juneau, Alaska 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glaciers
Types of glaciers Ice sheets Often called continental ice sheets Ice flows out in all directions from one or more snow accumulation centers. Other types of glaciers Ice caps Outlet glaciers
Piedmont glaciers 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glaciers What if the ice on Earth melted? Slightly more than 2% of the worlds water is tied up in glaciers. Antarctic ice sheet Eighty percent of the worlds ice
Nearly two-thirds of Earths fresh water Covers almost one and one-half times the area of the United States If melted, sea level would rise 60 to 70 meters. 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Potential North American Coastline if Present Ice Sheets Melted
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Formation of Glacial Ice Glaciers form in areas where more snow falls in winter than melts during the summer. Steps in the formation of glacial ice Air infiltrates snow. Snowflakes become smaller, thicker, and
more spherical. Air is forced out. 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Formation of Glacial Ice Steps in the formation of glacial ice Snow is recrystallized into a much denser mass of small grains called firn. Once the thickness of the ice and snow
exceeds 50 meters, firn fuses into a solid mass of interlocking ice crystalsglacial ice. 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Movement of Glacial Ice Movement is referred to as flow.
Two basic types 1. Plastic flow Occurs within the ice Under pressure, ice behaves as a plastic material. 2. Basal slip Entire ice mass slipping along the ground Most glaciers are thought to move this way by this process.
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Movement of Glacial Ice Movement is referred to as flow. Zone of fracture Occurs in the uppermost 50 meters Tension causes crevasses to form in brittle ice. Rates of glacial movement
Average velocities vary considerably from one glacier to another. 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glaciers Move by Basal Sliding and Internal Flow 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Movement of Glacial Ice Rates of glacial movement Rates of up to several meters per day Some glaciers exhibit extremely rapid movements called surges. Budget of a glacier The zone of accumulation is the area where a
glacier forms. Elevation of the snowline varies greatly. 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Movement of Glacial Ice Budget of a glacier The zone of wastage is the area where there is a net loss of ice due to: Melting
Calvingthe breaking off of large pieces of ice (icebergs where the glacier has reached the sea) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Movement of Glacial Ice Budget of a glacier Balance, or lack of balance, between accumulation and loss is referred to as the
glacial budget. If accumulation exceeds loss (called ablation), the glacial front advances. If ablation increases and/or accumulation decreases, the ice front will retreat. 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The Glacial Budget
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glacial Erosion Glaciers are capable of great erosion and sediment transport.
Glaciers erode the land primarily in two ways: 1. Pluckinglifting of rocks 2. Abrasion Rocks within the ice acting like sandpaper to smooth and polish the surface below 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Glacial Erosion Glacial erosion Glacial abrasion produces: Rock flours (pulverized rock) Glacial striations (grooves in the bedrock) Landforms created by glacial erosion Erosional features of glaciated valleys Glacial troughs
Truncated spurs Hanging valleys 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Scratches and Grooves in Bedrock Produced by Glacial Abrasion 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Glacial Erosion Landforms created by glacial erosion Erosional features of glaciated valleys Pater noster lakes Cirques Tarns Fiords Artes Horns
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Landforms Created by Glacial Erosion 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. U-Shaped Glacial Trough, Norway
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glacial Deposits Glacial drift refers to all sediments of
glacial origin. Types of glacial drift Tillmaterial that is deposited directly by the ice Stratified driftsediments laid down by glacial meltwater 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Glacial Till Is Typically Unstratified and Unsorted 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glacial Deposits Landforms made of till Moraines Layers or ridges of till
Moraines produced by alpine glaciers Lateral moraine Medial moraine Other types of moraines End moraineterminal or recessional Ground moraine
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Medial Moraines in Alaska 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glacial Depositional Features 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Glacial Deposits Landforms made of till Drumlins Smooth, elongated, parallel hills The steep sides face the direction from which the ice advanced. Occur in clusters called drumlin fields. Formation not fully understood.
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Drumlin Field Near Palmyra, New York 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glacial Deposits
Landforms made of stratified drift Outwash plains (with ice sheets) and valley trains (when in a valley) Broad ramp-like surface composed of stratified drift deposited by meltwater leaving a glacier Located adjacent to the downstream edge of most end moraines Often pockmarked with depressions called kettles
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glacial Deposits Landforms made of stratified drift Ice-contact deposits Deposited by meltwater flowing over, within, and at the base of motionless ice Features include
Kames Kame terraces Eskers 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Glaciers of the Past Indirect effects of Ice Age glaciers Forces migration of animals and plants Changes in stream courses
Rebounding upward of the crust in former centers of ice accumulation Worldwide change in sea level Climatic changes Pluvial lakes 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Crustal Rebound Following the Removal of Glacial Ice
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Sea Level Changes Over the Past 20,000 Years 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Causes of Glaciation
Any successful theory must account for: What causes the onset of glacial conditions What caused the alteration of glacial and interglacial stages that have been documented for the Pleistocene epoch 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Maximum Extent of Ice Sheets in the
Northern Hemisphere 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Causes of Glaciation Some possible causes of glaciation Plate tectonics Continents were arranged differently in the past. Changes in oceanic circulation
Variations in Earths orbit The Milankovitch hypothesis 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Causes of Glaciation Some possible causes of glaciation Milankovitch hypothesis
Shape (eccentricity) of Earths orbit varies. Angle of Earths axis (obliquity) changes. Earths axis wobbles (precession). Changes in climate over the past several hundred thousand years are closely associated with variations in the geometry of Earths orbit. Other factors are probably also involved. 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
End of Chapter 18 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
