Glacial Systems
437
The Physical Environment: An Introduction to Physical Geography
CHAPTER 18: Glacial Systems
Cirque in the Front Range Rocky Mountains, ColoradoM. Ritter Some of the most magnificent landscapes on Earth are created by the action of glaciers.Throughout much of our geologic history, great sheets of ice have waxed and waned acrossthe Earth's surface. Glaciers in high mountains have created a craggy landscape of sharpridges, amphitheater-like depressions, and hanging valleys occupied by spectacular waterfalls. Over the flatter plains of the Earth, ice sheets over a mile thick advanced, plowingover and burying the surface in a great thickness of glacial sediment. Once retreated, theglaciers left sinuous ridges, streamlined hills, and a pocked marked surface of depressionsand lakes.
Glacial Systems
438
The Physical Environment: An Introduction to Physical Geography
Glacial Systems Outline
y
Glaciation
o
Causes of glaciation
o
A
natomy of a glacier
o
Glacier movement
y
Geologic work of glaciers
o
Glacial erosion
o
Glacier transport anddeposition
y
L
andforms of ContinentalGlaciation
y
L
andforms of
A
lpine Glaciation
y
Review
Glacial Systems
439
The Physical Environment: An Introduction to Physical Geography
Glaciation
A
glacier
is a natural accumulation of land ice showing movement at some time. Many timesduring Earth's history, great ice sheets waxed and waned over the surface. What caused these periods of glaciation is still not fully understood and no single reason will probably be found.
Causes of glaciation
The onset of a period or
stage
of glaciation is due to a change in Earth temperature andcirculation. It is generally accepted that a global decrease of 4
o
to 5
o
C, especially during thesummer, and a substantial increase in the amount of snowfall in subarctic and arctic regions isnecessary for the onset of a glacial episode. Several theories have been proposed for such achange in climate -- reductions in solar radiation due to meteorite collisions with the Earth,increased volcanism, the shifting location of continents, and the uplift of vast mountainregions. Milutin Milankovitch proposed one of the most significant theories to accountfor climate change by variations in Earth orbit. Changes in the eccentricity of earth orbit, thedegree of deviation of the orbit from a perfect circular path, is thought to cause the necessarychange in insolation to decrease global temperatures. Recall that the Earth's orbit is elliptical, but over periods of 100,000 years the shape varies. The changes in orbit have been correlatedwith ocean sediments that record the history of glacial stages. The cyclical nature of warmingand cooling correspond well with the estimated dates of glacial and interglacial periods. Inaddition to the change in orbit, the Earth "wobbles" on its axis which alters the amount of insolation reaching the surface of the Earth. [For more about the causes and stagesof glaciation in earth history see: "Why were there four long, generally cool periods duringwhich continent-sized glaciers advanced and retreated?" from the Illinois State Museum.]
Anatomy of a Glacier
Whatever the cause, the main reason glacial advances are initiated is that winter accumulationexceeds the summer loss of snow over a long period of time. Snow metamorphoses intoglacial ice under the increasing pressure of accumulated layers of snow. It first changes to agranular form called
f
irn
, and ultimately into ice. Glacial ice sometimes looks blue because itabsorbs all colors of the visible light spectrum except blue, which it transmits and hence its blue appearance. Glacier ice may also appear white because some ice is fractured with pockets of air that indiscriminately scatters the visible light spectrum.
Figure GS.2
Regions of aglacier.
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