Glacial Leftovers
So what do glaciers leave behind once they melt away? Let's start off with the basics: Icebergs! These giant chunks of ice break off of the glacier and drift off to the sea, helping to keep global sea levels down.
If you recall from our discussion on the properties of water, solid ice is less dense than its liquid component, which allows icebergs to be buoyant enough to float. Neat! Watch out for below, however...there is often more than meets the eye of icebergs.
If you recall from our discussion on the properties of water, solid ice is less dense than its liquid component, which allows icebergs to be buoyant enough to float. Neat! Watch out for below, however...there is often more than meets the eye of icebergs.
Alright, let's list off some other things that get left behind once a glacier has left a path. Once you've gotten the list down, check out some pics below!
- Kettle: a depression formed when till builds up around a stationary glacier·
- Cirques: rounded, steep-walled recesses in valley walls
- Tarns: lakes that form due to uneven erosion
- Fjords: deep valleys partially below sea level
- Moraines: the line where accumulated material is deposited. Several types of moraines are terminal, lateral, or medial