1. “Fast Times at Glacial High” ERIC MARCH
And this is their story…..
“Fast Times at Glacial High”
ERIC MARCH

2. Glaciers

3. What is a glacier?
A glacier is a massive, long-lasting, moving mass of compacted snow and ice.
Glaciers can only form on land, wherever the amount of snow that falls in winter exceeds the amount that melts in summer.
There are two types of glaciers…

4. Alpine Glaciers
Form on mountains because mountains usually have deep winter snowfall and the summers are short and cool.
This type exists on every continent, EVEN on the EQUATOR in Africa on Mount Kenya and in South America on Mount Cayambe.
Mt. Kenya

5. Continental Glaciers

6. Miscellaneous Info Did you know that…
Glaciers store about 75% of the world's freshwater.
Glacierized areas cover more than 15,000,000 square kilometers of the Earth.
Glacier ice crystals can grow to be as large as baseballs.
Glacial ice often appears blue because ice absorbs all other colors except blue; which is reflected.
Ice shelves may calve icebergs that are over 80 kilometers long.
Almost 90% of an iceberg is below water--only about 10% shows above water.
North America's longest glacier is the Bering Glacier in Alaska, measuring 204 kilometers long.

7. Interesting Fact of the Day
Byron Glacier
Located in Alaska, On Mt. Alyeska
One hour south of Anchorage
Receding fairly quickly due to global warming
Tundra is slowly being replaced by larger plants.

8. Glacial Movement
All glaciers can be thought of as rivers…just really big, frozen rivers!
Because all glaciers are moving, most at an average of 10 inches per day!

9. Glacial Movement
Glaciers move two ways:
Basal Slip
Plastic Flow

10. Basal Slip
The entire glacier slides over bedrock, much the same way that a bar of soap slides down a board

11. Plastic Flow
The glacier deforms like a fluid as it moves downhill

12. Plastic Flow
The glacier deforms like a fluid as it moves downhill

13. Glacial Movement
Glaciers can move with both basal slip and plastic flow
Steep alpine glaciers will be mostly basal slip
Shallow continental glaciers will be mostly plastic flow

14. Features of Moving Glaciers
Glaciers flowing over bumps in the bedrock produce crevasses

15. Features of Moving Glaciers

16. Glacial Erosion
Water freezes in gaps in the bedrock, freezes, and dislodges boulders that get swept up by the glacier and dragged along!