VIII. Glaciers

A. Basics

  1. parts of glaciers
    1. zone of accumulation
      1. more snow falls than melts - ice flows downhill
    2. zone of ablation (wastage)
      1. melting
      2. sublimation/evaporation
      3. calving 
  2. types of glaciers
    1. valley glaciers (alpine glaciers)
    2. continental ice sheets

B. Erosion

  1. plucking
  2. abrasion
    1. striations
    2. polishing
    3. rock flour

C. Transport

  1. in the ice
  2. on the ice
  3. on edges/front
  4. in meltwater

D. Deposition

  1. till - poorly sorted, large grain size, angular fragments
    1. moraines
      1. end moraines
      2. lateral moraines
      3. medial moraines
      4. ground moraines - glacial erratics
  2. stratified drift - fine-grained, well sorted
    1. varves

E. Erosional landforms

  1. U-shaped valleys
  2. cirques
  3. horns
  4. aretes
  5. moraines

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