The Variety of Glacial Landscapes Results from Distinctive Processes. Discuss.
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- Date Submitted: 02/23/2014 07:23 AM
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Glacial landscapes are found on much of the Earth’s surface. They vary in their characteristics and different landforms which are created by different processes. Cold environments possess a wide variety of distinctive landforms, reflecting the diversity of past or present geomorphological processes. Some of these processes are unique to cold environments, while others are found elsewhere. Glacial environments are landscapes of glaciers and ice sheets. The largest single glacial environment is the Antarctic ice sheet and surrounding ice shelves, other extensive glacial environments include green land ice sheet and glaciated regions of the high arctic, Alaska and Patagonia in South America.
Landscapes can also be seen through Evidence shows glacial environments existed in Britain, mainly in Scotland, the Lake District and north Wales, under the different climatic conditions that have existed through geological time, particularly during the Quaternary period. They also occurred in Ireland, Scandinavia and much of northern Europe. Britain has experienced several glacial periods during the last 0.5million years, each separated by an interglacial. The repeat advances and retreats, means that periglacial and fluvioglacial processes produced many distinctive landscapes.
Processes
Processes are actions which shape the surface of the earth. They occur in both periglacial and glacial environments. There are many different distinct landforms formed in these areas for example corries, hanging valleys, erractics and drumlins etc. Fluvioglacial processes create landforms like outwash, eskers and kettle holes etc. Periglacial create pingos, scree and loess etc. The processes that occur include:
- Freeze-thaw
- Plucking
- Abrasion
- Avalanches
- River processes
Erosional landforms
Processes
As a glacier moves the debris embedded in the base rubs against surface rock, wearing them way like sandpapering this process is abrasion, and erodes rocks on a small scale. It...
Landscapes can also be seen through Evidence shows glacial environments existed in Britain, mainly in Scotland, the Lake District and north Wales, under the different climatic conditions that have existed through geological time, particularly during the Quaternary period. They also occurred in Ireland, Scandinavia and much of northern Europe. Britain has experienced several glacial periods during the last 0.5million years, each separated by an interglacial. The repeat advances and retreats, means that periglacial and fluvioglacial processes produced many distinctive landscapes.
Processes
Processes are actions which shape the surface of the earth. They occur in both periglacial and glacial environments. There are many different distinct landforms formed in these areas for example corries, hanging valleys, erractics and drumlins etc. Fluvioglacial processes create landforms like outwash, eskers and kettle holes etc. Periglacial create pingos, scree and loess etc. The processes that occur include:
- Freeze-thaw
- Plucking
- Abrasion
- Avalanches
- River processes
Erosional landforms
Processes
As a glacier moves the debris embedded in the base rubs against surface rock, wearing them way like sandpapering this process is abrasion, and erodes rocks on a small scale. It...