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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). [2]
An ice stream is a region of fast-moving ice within an ice sheet. It is a type of glacier , a body of ice that moves under its own weight. [ 2 ] They can move upwards of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) a year, and can be up to 50 kilometres (31 mi) in width, and hundreds of kilometers in length. [ 3 ]
There may be no motion in stagnant areas; for example, in parts of Alaska, trees can establish themselves on surface sediment deposits. In other cases, glaciers can move as fast as 20–30 m (70–100 ft) per day, such as in Greenland's Jacobshavn Isbræ. Glacial speed is affected by factors such as slope, ice thickness, snowfall, longitudinal ...
As glaciers move over their beds, they entrain and move material of all sizes. Glaciers can carry the largest sediment, and areas of glacial deposition often contain a large number of glacial erratics, many of which are several metres in diameter. Glaciers also pulverize rock into "glacial flour", which is so fine that it is often carried away ...
Several glaciers flow into the Shimshal Valley, and are prone to blocking the river. Khurdopin glacier surged in 2016–17, creating a sizable lake. [2] 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.
Greenland ice sheet as seen from space. An ice sheet is a body of ice which covers a land area of continental size - meaning that it exceeds 50,000 km 2. [4] The currently existing two ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica have a much greater area than this minimum definition, measuring at 1.7 million km 2 and 14 million km 2, respectively.
The glacier encounters more bumps due to its higher speed and, since ice moving at a higher speed is less able to maintain connection with the bedrock, faster moving glaciers are more likely to form cavities when passing over bumps. [2] [1] This increases the subglacial space which can be filled with water, decreasing basal water pressure. [7]
A glacier (US: / ˈ ɡ l eɪ ʃ ər / GLAY-shər) or (UK: / ˈ ɡ l æ s i ə /) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation (melting and sublimation) over many years, often centuries.