glaciers

Imaggeo on Mondays: When boulders hitch a ride from glaciers

Ian Watkinson January 6, 2020

Glacially transported boulders, Glen More. Credit: Ian Watkinson (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Glen More, on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, is a classic locality for studying glacial landforms and sediments. Here, two prominent ice-transported boulders stand guard at the head of the valley, left behind after the Loch Lomond Readvance (Younger Dryas stade), the final pulse of Quaternary glaciation in Scotland. Behind them in the characteristic U-shaped valley, hummocky morraines are littered wi ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: How fast are Greenland’s glaciers melting into the sea?

Jon Fuhrmann February 9, 2018

The Greenland ice sheet is undergoing rapid change, and nowhere more so than at its margins, where large outlet glaciers reach sea level. Because these glaciers are fed by very large reservoirs of ice, they don’t just flow to the coast, but can extend many kilometres out into the ocean. Here, the ice – being lighter than water – will float, but remain connected to the ice on the mainland. This phe ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: A dramatic avalanche from Annapurna South

Laura Roberts-Artal August 7, 2017

A dramatic avalanche from Annapurna South . Credit: Emily Hill (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

The Annapurna massif is located in an imposing 55 km long collection of peaks in the Himalayas, which behave as a single structural block. Composed of one peak (Annapurna I Main) in excess of 8000 m, a further thirteen peaks over 7000 m and sixteen more of over 6000 m, the massif forms a striking structure within the Himalayas. Annapurna South (pictured in today’s featured image), the 101st talles ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Tongue of a small giant

Antonello Provenzale July 10, 2017

Tongue of a small giant . Credit: Antonello Provenzale (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

In a world where climate change causes many mountain glaciers to shrink away, bucking the ‘melting’ trend is not easy. In today’s post, Antonello Provenzale, a researcher in Italy, tells us of one glacier in the Alps which is doing just that. Mountain glaciers are retreating worldwide, with the possible exception of the Karakoram area. For most glaciers, ablation (ice melt) durin ...[Read More]