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Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand Features of a glacial landscape. Glacier morphology, or the form a glacier takes, is influenced by temperature, precipitation, topography, and other factors. [1] The goal of glacial morphology is to gain a better understanding of glaciated landscapes and the way they are shaped. [2]
Apart from the landforms left behind by glaciers, glaciers themselves are striking features of the terrain, particularly in the polar regions of Earth. Notable examples include valley glaciers where glacial flow is restricted by the valley walls, crevasses in the upper section of glacial ice, and icefalls—the ice equivalent of waterfalls.
Several glaciers flow into the Shimshal Valley, and are prone to blocking the river. Khurdopin glacier surged in 2016–17, creating a sizable lake. [3] Glaciers of Shimsal Valley from space, May 13, 2017. Khurdopin glacier has dammed the Shimshal River, forming a glacial lake. The river has started to carve a path through the toe of the glacier.
Most lakes in the world occupy basins scoured out by glaciers. Glacial motion can be fast (up to 30 metres per day (98 ft/d), observed on Jakobshavn Isbræ in Greenland ) [ 1 ] or slow (0.5 metres per year (20 in/year) on small glaciers or in the center of ice sheets), but is typically around 25 centimetres per day (9.8 in/d).
An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. [1] They are often found in the colder climates and higher altitudes of the world where there is sufficient precipitation for them to form.
As the glacier advances, sediment is transported to the bottom of the glacier and deposited. When the glacier melts, this unconsolidated debris forms ridges. The shape of a terminal represents the shape of the glacier snout or terminus. [26] Terminal moraine refers to the moraine occurring at the point of the furthest advance of a glacier.
Moulins are parts of the internal structure of glaciers, that carry meltwater from the surface down to wherever it may go. [7] Water from a moulin often exits the glacier at base level, sometimes into the sea, and occasionally the lower end of a moulin may be exposed in the face of a glacier or at the edge of a stagnant block of ice.
Glaciokarst landscapes have an array of unique features resulting from the fusion of glacial and karstic processes. Typical features found in glaciokarst landscapes may include glacially carved valleys, sinkholes formed by the dissolution of bedrock, and ice-contact features.