CENTRAL UNIVERSITY, SAGAR ( M.P.

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED GEOLOGY

A PROJECT
ON

GEOLOGICAL WORK OF GLACIER

B. Sc (I SEMESTER )

2010
Under Guidance of :Dr. R. . R!"!#

Submitted by R! $%& ' %()&!%&

CON
1.Introduction
2.Formation of glacier 3.Type of glacier 4.Mo ement of glacier

TEN

TS

!."eological #or$ of glacier%

1. Erotional #or$ and erotional land form% 2.Tran%portational #or$ 3.&epo%itional #or$% and depo%itional land form% '.(eference

INTRODUCTION
As Davis suggested a glacial topography is a climatic accident that happens to normal cycle of erosion, i.e climate gets very cold and the river freezes. Instead op rivers of water there are rivers of ice, called Glaciers which operate as the main geomorphic agent. Longwell and lint have defined a glacier as follows!" A glacier is a #ody, consisting mainly of recrystallized snow, flowing on a land surface. In simple terms a glacier may #e defined as large natural accumulation of ice with a downward or outward movement from the snow"field under the influence of gravity. $hey move down the pre"e%isting valleys or radiate out in great lo#es. At present it is estimated that appro%imately &' percent of the earth land surface and ( percent of the ocean are covered #y glacier ice. $he largest e%tent was attained during the )leistocene or Great Ice ages.

Types of Glacier
*n the #asis of their stage of development size shape and relationship #etween the supply and flow areas, $hree types of glacier have #een distinguished, $hese are as!" &. +ountain or ,alley glacier -. )iedmont glacier .. Ice"sheets I/ Mountain or alley !lacier"# $he #ody of ice and moving down slope under the impact of gravity through the valley walls in the mountains is called mountain glacier or valley glacier or Alpine glacier. $hey are located generally a#ove the snow"line as they are a#lated. while descending down the snow line. According to their characteristic features several 0inds of valley glaciers have #een distinguished such as i/ 1imple glaciers which are isolated consisting of single flow without any tri#utaries. ii/ 2omple% or polysynthetic glaciers consists of a num#er of coalescing glaciers, the pattern of which resem#les that of a river with tri#utaries. $he important glaciers of the 3imalayan regions are 4upal glaciers 5&6 0.m/ II/ $ie%&ont !lacier"# $hese are also 0nown as intermediate type of glacier. $he glaciers formed due to coalescene of several mountain or valley glaciers at the foothill zone are called piedmont glacier. +elaspina glacier of Alas0a 571A/ is typical e%ample of piedment glacier. III) Ice s'eet"# $hey are also 0nown as continental glaciers #ecause of the e%tensive surface area they cover and also due to their enormous mass. $he two well 0nown ice sheet of our day are!" &) (ntarctic ice s'eets"# It has a surface area of a#out &8 &'6 s.9.0m and covers :'percent Antarctic. -) T'e Green lan% ice s'eet"# It is #roadly dome li0e in appearance and is spread over more than &.(- million 0m- or ;'< area of Greenland.

Geolo!ical )or* of Glaciers.

$he geological action of glaciers comprises erosion, transportation and deposition which together constitute what is 0nown as glaciatio. &/ =rosional wor0 of glacier!" $he erosional wor0 of glacier place due to 5i/ )luc0ing 5ii/ 4asping 5A#rasion/ 5iii/ Avalanching 5&/ )luc0ing!" It may #e i/ $luc*in!"# It may #e #roadly defined as loosening and #rea0ing of roc0 masses #y the pressure of glacial ice. It is also called glacial 9uarrying in this process moving glacial ice first developers of a firm hold over the roc0 mass or a part of roc0 #ody and their #y virtue of pressure generated #y ice movement, the ice tears the roc0 mass out of its place. An irregular surface is thus created in the roc0 mass which facilities further pluc0ing. $hus, #loc0 after #loc0 is form out of position and moves away along wit the glacial ice leaving #ehind a rough and ragged roc0 surface. $hese pluc0ed"out surfaces are o#served conspicuously in many glaciate areas on the tipper sides of nill li0e structures called the stross and ice forms. ii/ (+rasion"# 4asping!" It is the ru##ing scratching, grooving and polishing action of the glaciers on the roc0 surface along or over which these ice masses happen to move, ice itself is capa#le of a#rading the soft roc0s only. >ut, when it is carrying along with iot a#ove fragments and roc0 pieces, sand, silt and clay, distri#uted along its #ase and the sides5?here it is more li0ely to come in contact with the surrounding roc0s/, it acts as a powerful a#rading medium. $he #igger and harder 5than #ed roc0/ fragments perform the wor0 of grooving or cutting into the roc0s as they are carried forward over them .$he fine, sharp and hard fragments and grains leave scratches on the effected roc0 surfaces whereas the sand and silt particles do a neat polishing @o#. $he same roc0 may get grooved, scratched and polished at places depending upon the location concentration and hardness of these glacial tools. iii/( alanc'in! "# $his is a process of mass"wasting when the valley sides are scraped and the roc0 de#ris which are #ro0en off carried away #y the glacier ice, there result a

great deal of under"cutting of the valley sides. $his leads to mass" wasting, #ringing huge amounts of de#ris onto the top surface of the glacier.

Erotional ,an% for&s"#

Glacial striation" Glaciers carry many types of fragments and particles em#edded in them. $hose materials placed along the #ase of a glacier may scratch, gridor groove the roc0 surface during the movement of the ice. 1uch fine"cut lines and scratches #ecome e%posed when the glacier disappears these are termed as striations or glacial stride and are counted among the most relia#le evidence of glacial erosion of the past ages. ii/ 2rag and tail!" ?hen in the course of a glacier a highly resistant roc0 5li0e an igneous #ody/ stands as an o#struction, it generally retards the erosive action of ice on the soft #ed roc0s sheltered #ehind the o#struction. $hus a peculiar features result in which the o#structing #loc0 #oldly faces the direction of ice. It is 0nown as 24AG. $he sheltered and protected softer #ed roc0 is turned the tail and the com#ined structures as crag and tail.

EROSION(, ,(ND-ORMS
Cra! an% Tail ?hen in the course of a glacier a highly resistance roc0 5li0e an igneous #ody/ stands as an o#struction, it generally retards the erosive action of ice on the soft #ed roc0s sheltered #ehind the o#struction .$hus a peculiar feature results in which the o#structing #loc0 #oldly faces the direction of ice. It is 0nown as 24AG. $he sheltered and protected softer #ed roc0 is termed the tail and the com#ined structure as crag and tail.

2rag and $ail

Glacial .alley (Trou!')

+ost valley"glaciers originate and disappear in pre"e%isting valleys carved out #y streams. $hese glaciated stream valleys, however are eventually so much modified in their longitudinal and transverse profiles #ecause of prolonged glacial erosion that their origin due to stream erosion may #ecome dou#tful. In their transverse profile, glacial valleys present a typical u"shaped outline, tending more towards a semi"circle. $his is attri#uted to the fact that glaciers, unli0e streams cut their sides at an e9ual or even at a faster rate than their #ases. Again, many glacial valleys present a step"li0e outline in their longitudinal profiles. $his is attri#uted to the fact that glaciers, unli0e streams cut their sides at an e9ual or even at a faster rate then their #ases. Again many glacial valleys present a step li0e outline in their longitudinal profiles. $he steps are terms as riegels and are indicated #y steep slopes in the valley, followed in the downward direction #y e%ceedingly down cut roc0s into depressions termed #asins, 4iegels and >asins are #elieved to develop #ecause of une9ual resistance of the #ed roc0 to glacial erosion! riegels are the regions where the roc0is more dense, un@ointed and hence highly resistant to erosion and the #asin #eing the highly fractured, @ointed zones of the #ed roc0.

7"1hape ,alley

/an!in! .alleys A valley glacier may have one or more small tri#utary glaciers meeting it from sides. $he rate of glacier erosion #eing more in the main valley glacier 5#ecause of greater volume of ice in it/, a time may come when the side glaciers are no longer in contact with main valley. $heir small valleys are gradually left higher at @unctions with the main valley, which is also called vertical drop may #e from a few meters to -'' meters or more. 1uch tri#utary glacial valleys are called hanging valleys. $hese are common features in mountain glaciers. $hey also provide ideal spots for development of water falls after the disappearance of glaciers.

3anging ,alley Cir0ues (Corries) A cir9ue may #e defined as a semicircular or half"#owl shaped depression within an otherwise uniform glaciated valley slope. 1uch a depression is invaria#ly #ounded on sides #y step walls.

2ir9ues

2ir9ues range in diameter from a few meters to a few 0ilometers and occurs commonly at the heads of valley glaciers. As regards their origin, cir9ues are #elieved to #e the result of com#ined action of nivation and glacial erosion on roc0s of suita#le composition and structure. Aivation is the process of refreezing of meltware in cavities and crac0s of roc0s. $his change ta0es place more li0e frost action the freezing of water #eing accompanied #y its e%panding within the crac0s and there #y #rea0ing a part the roc0 into small places. It is #elieved that #ac0 portions of glacial ice held in small depressions undergo partial melting during the day in summer. $he melt water penetrates through the cra0es and fissures into #ed roc0s and side roc0s, where it refreezes and e%erts disintegrating effects causing the roc0s to shatter. $he roc0 waste so produced is then easily eroded #y glaciers. $hus a localized depression is caused on the slope which is enlarged with the passage of time #y repeated nivation and glacial erosion. (re1Te2 /orns an% Cols Glacial erosions modifies the original form of mountainous regions to a great e%tent with the development of valleys and cir9ues. urther growth of these glacial e%cavation assisted #y mechanical disintegration results in the development of certain peculiar forms. Aretes, horns and cols are some such noteworthy features.

3orns and 2ols An A4=$=A is a 0nife"edged sharp and narrow crest of a glaciated mountain. $he slender shape of an arete is commonly due to removal of most of the material from in #etween two cir9ues due to their progressive growth. $heir sharp edges are attri#uted

to wedging #y frost action. A horn is a pyramidal, multi"facetted pro@ecting form in a mountainous region. It is commonly sculptured #y a num#er of arBtes e%panding around a common central ridge or crest. A 2*L is a pass or depression on a ridge in a glaciated mountain. *ften it represents a place of intersection of two cir9ues approaching each other from opposite sides.

G,(CI(, TR(NS$ORT(TION
Glaciers are, #y definition, moving #odies of ice, the rate of movement varying from a few centimeters a tear to many meters a day. As such they are capa#le of transporting any load they gather during their movement. 1uch load consist of all sorts of heterogeneous material! #oulders, pe##les, sand, silt and clay particles which a glacier may ac9uire #y pluc0ing or a#rasion and which may #e supplied to it #y other sources. $he load #eing carried #y glaciers may #e located along its #ase 5su# glacial load/ *r it may em#edded within its #ody 5englacial load/. A good part of the load may #e strewn all over the surface of the glacier5super"glacial/. $he rate of movement or transport of the glacial load depends on the position that the load material occupies in a glacier, #ecause! 5i/ $he glacial load moves only when the glacial ice movesC 5ii/ $he rate of movement of glacial ice is never uniform throughout its #odyC it differs considera#ly at the #ase, along the sides and on the surface. It has #een now fairly esta#lished that 5a/ +iddle portion moves faster than the side portions of the same glacier. $he reason in each case is the same ! greater friction that a glacier has to overcome at the #ottom or along the sides compared with the top portion and middle regions respectively, >esides, it is also 0nown that as increase in temperature, steepness in slope, smooth configuration of the channel #ase and side and straightness of the course are some other factors which independently or collectively account for an increased rate of transport #y glaciers.

MO.EMENT O- G,(CIER $he e%act mode of movement of glacial ice is as yet an incompletely understood phenomenon. +any theories have #een put forward, e%periments conducted and actual o#servations made on e%isting glaciers. It is #elieved that the net movement of a glacier is the result of at least two types of motions of the ice in a glacial mass. -irst ! A sliding motion of glacial #ody along the #ed roc0 which is due mostly to gravity. It is greatly facilitated #y the lu#ricating action of glacial melt water commonly developed along the #asal regions of thic0 glacial masses. Secon%! A plastic or creep failure in which each ice particle virtually slips along its #asal plane under the influence of shearing forces. $hese shearing forces are #elieved to develop due to a com#ination of favora#le factors such as! load of the ice from a#ove, slope of the channel, pull of gravity and so on.

G,(CI(, DE$OSITIONS
Glaciers carry enormous 9uantities of hetregenous load with them which is 0ept in a state or transport till the conditions are favoura#le or till the glaciers reach their lower ends or terminal points where rate of melting far e%ceeds rate of movement. $he load is then deposited or dropped an may form huge accumulations of glacial de#ris ac9uiring varying shapes and characters. Drift All such accumulations of glacial de#ris that have #een deposited #y glaciers directly 5from glacial ice/ or indirectly from glacial melt water are collectively 0nown as drift. $his is further distinguished into two types! $ill and luvio"glacial drift. A. Till. It is also called unstrafield drift, and is the most common form glacial deposits. A synonymous term is #oulder clay. $ill may consists of an unsorted mi%ture of #oulders and clay particles or @ust a huge accumulation of either component having an undisputed glacial origin. It may #e loosely pac0ed or highly compacted. In some cases the till deposits are dense, $horoughly compacted and indurated when these are further distinguish as tillite.

$ills often show a @ointing structure and highly varia#le te%ture. $hey may #e made up of components 5clasts/ of greatly contrasting shapes and compositions representing regions over which the glacial ice had moved prior to reaching the place of deposition. +oraines of various types and drumlins 5descri#es later on/ are typical morphological e%amples of till. >. Stratifie% DriftC $his is also called luvio"glacial Drift. It represent all those accumulation of glacial origin where meltwaters have played a prominent part in their deposition. 2onse9uently, stratified drift deposits e%hi#it a definite shorting according to grain size of the particles and may resem#les in this case with stream deposits. $he meltwater may #e formed at any place in a glacier depending upon the physico"chemical and thermodynamical conditions. $hus they may #e formed over the #ody of a glacier due to heat generated #y friction as a result of movement of the glacier. $hey may also #e formed in the middle or elsewhere in the #ody of glacier due to development of crevices and crac0s of varia#le depth. $he location of the deposits laid down #y glacial melt water depends upon the conditions that control the velocity of this water. As, when and where there is a chec0 in the velocity of the meltwater, a part or whole of glacial de#ris #eing carried #y it is deposited temporarily or permanently depending upon the nature of chec0 in velocity. 2onse9uently, stratified drift may get accumulated within a glacial region or much #eyond in it. $he first type of drift is may get accumulated within a glacial region or much #eyond it. $he first type of drift is termed as Ice"contact"stratified drift and the second type as outwash deposits. Dames, =s0ers and outwash plains are geomorphological features #elonging to stratified. 2. Erratics. $hese may #e defined as variously sized #oulders and #loc0s of roc0s that are clearly and un dou#tedly foreign to the place of their present occurensce.

A huge many hundred ton #loc0 of granite for e%ample lying loosely in a valley made up entirely of limestone for many miles is an erratic at that place. =vidently it might have #een #rought here from its original place of occurrence which may #e any distance away #y some transporting agency. *nly glaciers are #elieved to have #een involved in such a wor0. Glacial erratics are the most commonly o#served features in glaciated areas. =rractics that have #een transported for such as much as &-'' 0m #y glacier have #een reported. $he Ehelum valley #etween 74I and >aramula in Dashmir has a num#er of erractics derived from genetic gneisses of Da@ Aag range many hundred 0ilometers away.

Depositional ,an%for&s
3. Glacial Moraines 5a/ Definition. Glacial moraines may #e defined as localized accumulation of glacial de#ris 5fragments of roc0, sand, silt and clay etc./that are found either on the #ody of an e%isting glacier or at various place along a glaciated valley of an e%tinct glacier. 5#/ Source. +aterials ma0ing the moraines of e%isting glaciers are a heterogenous mi%ture of fragments sediments and particles supplied to the glacier #y the weathering of the valley walls and protruding cliffs. $he moraines of e%tinct glacier also include all those fragments walls and particles that the glacier was capa#le of a#rading and pluc0ing during its life. $he morainic material is most commonly assorted and forms a till type deposit. In some cases partial stratification due to su#ordinate role of melt waters is also o#served. 5c/ Types. A num#er of glacial moraines are distinguished on the #asis of their position. *n the #ody of an e%isting glacier or along the glaciated valley of an e%tinct glacier. ollowing are common types of moraines.

5i/ ,ateral Moraines. $hese are thin or thic0 strea0s of roc0 de#ris that generally e%tend along the sides of a glacier or glacial valley for varia#le distances. 5ii/ Me%ial Moraines. ?hen two or more valley glaciers meet and form a piedmont glacier in the lower reaches of valley glaciers, their ad@acent lateral moraines the central together to form a comparatively thic0 #and of de#ris running through the central regions of the composite glaciers. $hese medial ridges of accumulations form the medial moraines. 5iii/ En% &oraines. $hese are formed as accumulations running across the glacial #ody at its terminus or end, that is, the place where melting of glacier is so heavy that it cannot move ahead as a #ody o f ice. $hese are also called terminal moraines. In the history of most of the glaciers of the past, the snow line receded #ac0wards in a series of steps. A snow line was esta#lished every time at a higher altitude with change in climate after a certain interval of time. 1uch glacier would leave a series together are termed recessional moraines. 5iii/ Groun% Moraines. ?ith the disappearance of a glacier, material em#edded along its #ase is strewn all over the surface of the #ed roc0, or on the #ared ground of the glacial valley. $his may ac9uire considera#le thic0ness in some cases. 3eaps of such morainic materials spresd irregularly over the floor of glacial valley are termed as ground moraines. +any glaciated valleys are full of such material.

+oraines, Drumlins and *utwash )lains

4. Dru&lins $hese are typically low, unstratified drift deposits forming small rounded hills upto a#out - 0m long, F'' m wide and -'' m high. $heir longer a%es are deposed parallel to the direction of flow of ice. Generally these forms occur in groups or clusters of mounds in an overlapping fashion. Drumlins may #e made predomonently of clay or sand or of a heterogenous mi%ture of such materials.

Dru&lin 5. 6&aes"# $hese are low stratified or layered hills occurring in isolated patches or in clusters. Dames are characterized with rounded outlines and steep alopes on sides. 3ey are commonly .'"F' m high. $heir location suggests that they have #een formed #y glacial waters within or along the sides of glaciers. It is #elieved that 0ames might have #een formed either #y the accumulation of de#ris #y the streams formed from meltwater and flowing along the sides of a glacier or #y deposition of de#ris #y water into crac0s and crevices present in the #ody of glaciers. 7. Out)as' plains $hese are also 0nown as wash"plains or frontal aprons. $hese plains are irregularly stratified fluvio"glacial deposits consist generally of course gravels near the upper end to fine clay at the lower reaches. $hese are in many cases coalesced or com#ined forms of a num#er of small alluvial plains laid down #y glacial meltwaters.

8. 6ettles +any glacial deposits show development of depressions or holes within their #odies or on their surfaces. $hese are termed as 0ettle holes or simply 0ettles and are formed #y melting of #loc0s of ice that might have #een entrapped within a deposit during the process of its deposition.

*utwash )lains

RE-RENCE
BOO6S RECOMMENDED

3. En!ineerin! an% General Geolo!y"# $ra een Sin!' 4. Te9t +oo* of $'ysical Geolo!y"# G.B. Ma'apatra. 5. Te9t +oo* of $'ysical Geo!rap'y"#S' in%ra Sin!'.

I&a!es
By Boo*s an% Goo!le I&a!es

Directe% By"#
Dr. R.6. Ra)at