Cryosphere
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
10:31 AM
EEPS 101 Guided Notes
Cryosphere
Learning Outcomes
 Distinguish glaciers from other forms of frozen water
 Classify different types of glaciers
 Describe how glaciers form
 List the landforms and sedimentary deposits associated with glaciation
 Explain how glaciers are used in paleoclimate research
 Define and describe the major recent ice ages
Lecture Outline
Origin of Glaciers
1.
Simple budget condition that must be met:
2.
Outline formation from snow to firn to ice
3.
Flow of glacial ice
a.
Condition(s) required?
b.
How?
i. Mountain glacier:
ii.
c.
1.
“Flat” ice sheet:
Structures that form
Glacier Types
Mountain (alpine) glacier
a. Definition
b.
Components
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b.
2.
Components
Continental glacier description
Glacial Features and Landforms
1.
2.
Terms
a. Till:
b.
Striations:
c.
Cirque:
d.
Arête:
e.
Horn:
f.
Moraine:
g.
Outwash plain:
Types of moraines. How/where they form
a. End
b.
Recessional
c.
Lateral
d.
Medial
1.
Impacts of Glaciation
Subsidence:
2.
Sea-level change:
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3.
Surficial geology (soil and surface sediments):
1.
Glaciers and Climate
Atmospheric characteristics preserved in glacial ice
a. Chemistry
2.
b.
______________
c.
______________
Fundamentals of oxygen isotope analysis
a. What are the isotopes/what is measured?
b.
3.
How is it linked to climate (i.e., what are the processes that tend to control oxygen
isotope ratios)?
Other phenomena that glaciers record
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