Glacial Processes and Associated Landorms

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A glacier is a mass of snow and ice that moves slowly over the land away from the place of accumulation. It forms when snowfall is greater than snow melt for a long time, so snow becomes compact ice u…

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Glaciers respond to climate conditions. They were generally advancing before 1858 and are now receding, so their movement gives a clear idea of climate trends.

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Lious Agassiz proved glacier movement in 1834 by placing pegs across a glacier. The middle pegs moved faster than the side pegs, showing that glacier ice does move.

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The middle moves faster because the ice is deeper there and faces less friction. The sides move more slowly due to friction against valley walls and the valley floor, and because debris along the marg…

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The velocity of moving ice increases with the steepness of the slope and the thickness of the glacial ice.

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The snowline is the lowest limit of perpetual snow. Snow fields are always found above it, and it marks the level above which snow does not normally melt completely.

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The snowline is over 5,000 metres in equatorial regions and may be at sea-level in polar regions. This shows that temperature strongly controls where permanent snow can exist.

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Snow never melts above the snowline. Huge mass of snow above the snowline gives birth to glaciers, because snow can accumulate and turn into compact ice there.