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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 .
Glaciokarst landscapes form through interactions between ice and certain types of rock, like limestone, gypsum, or dolomite, that are able to dissolve in water. [5] When glaciers move over the land, they shape it by carving valleys and other glacial features.
The mean height of land above sea level is about 797 m (2,615 ft). [109] Land can be covered by surface water, snow, ice, artificial structures or vegetation. Most of Earth's land hosts vegetation, [110] but considerable amounts of land are ice sheets (10%, [111] not including the equally large area of land under permafrost) [112] or deserts ...
At 62 kilometres (39 mi) in length, the pictured Baltoro Glacier is the fifth longest alpine glacier in the world. A glacier (US: / ˈ ɡ l eɪ ʃ ər /; UK: / ˈ ɡ l æ s i ə / or / ˈ ɡ l eɪ s i ə /) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, [2] that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight.
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]
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.
Features of a glacial landscape. Glaciers, while geographically restricted, are effective agents of landscape change. The gradual movement of ice down a valley causes abrasion and plucking of the underlying rock. Abrasion produces fine sediment, termed glacial flour. The debris transported by the glacier, when the glacier recedes, is termed a ...