Name __________________________________________
Date_________________
"Glaciers." Teachers' Domain. 17 Dec. 2005. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
<http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.earthsys.glaciers/>.
Introduction to Glaciers
Within this section you will be able to learn what glaciers are, where they are found,
how they form, and how they move. Don't get cold feet now...
What glaciers are
There are three main criteria for being a glacier. All of the different types of glaciers
meet these criteria, though they may vary in other characteristics.
1. __________________________
Structure—
Density—
2. __________________________
3. __________________________
Where glaciers are found
Glaciers are located wherever topographic and climatic factors are suitable for snow
to collect and survive.
1. _____________________________
What is more important to glacier formation than the amount of snow
that falls in an area?
2. ___________________________
Describe the summers in an area prone to glacier formation.
3. ___________________________
Why isn’t there an ice cap at the North Pole right now?
4. ___________________________
5. ___________________________
a.
b.
c.
6. ___________________________
What does “aspect” mean?
Types of glaciers
There are many different types of glaciers and many highly detailed classification
systems, but glaciers can most easily be differentiated on the basis of topography
and temperature. Glaciers are either unconstrained by topography, or the
topography actually constrains the glacier.
1. ______________________________________________________
What is the difference between ice caps and ice sheets?
2. ___________________________
What is it?
What may come from it?
3. ___________________________
What is it?
4. ___________________________
What is it?
Where does it form?
5. ___________________________
What is it?
Why is it noteworthy?
6. ___________________________
What is it?
How glaciers form
 Newly fallen snow is porous and ____________________________. Air easily
penetrates the pore spaces, and the delicate points of each snowflake
gradually evaporate. The resulting water vapor condenses, mainly in
constricted places near a snowflake’s center. In this way, the fragile ice
crystals slowly become smaller, rounder, and denser, and the pore spaces
between them _______________________.

Snow that survives a ____________ or more gradually becomes denser and
denser. The transitional phase between snow and glacier ice is a loose,
porous aggregate of small ice grains called ________________. When firn is no
longer permeable to air, it becomes glacier ice. Eventually glacier ice will
grow in grain size under increasing pressure at the base of a glacier.
Parts of a glacier
The parts of a glacier are tied to its glacial ___________________________. Yes, glaciers
believe wholeheartedly in balanced budgets, unlike many modern institutions. In
the case of a glacier, income is ______________________, and being "in the red" is contrary
to survival. Expenditures equate to the loss of snow (and the ice made from snow)
which are disposed of through ____________________________.
1. ___________________________
The part of a glacier's surface over which more snow is deposited than
ablated each year.
2. ___________________________
The highest level to which the winter snow cover retreats on a glacier.
For some temperate/warm glaciers, it is nearly coincident with the
equilibrium line.
3. ___________________________
The boundary between areas of gain and loss on a glacier's surface
during one year. It is where accumulation equals ablation, and the net
balance is zero.
4. ___________________________
That part of a glacier's surface over which ablation (wastage) exceeds
accumulation each year.
5. ___________________________
The terminus is the end or lowest part of a glacier. It is also known as
the foot, the nose, and even the snout of a glacier. Substantial melting
occurs here, as well as being the breaking-off point for icebergs.
6. ___________________________
The ground upon which a glacier rests, or, perhaps more
appropriately, the ground over which a glacier flows is called the bed.
How glaciers move



Most glaciers move too ___________________________ for us to see, and different
parts move at different rates.
Studies and monitoring have revealed, however, that surging glaciers are
fairly common. Some 204 glaciers have been identified in western North
America alone.
Typically, a glacier’s surface is far from being a featureless white expanse of
snow, although this is sometimes the case. There are many surface features
related to the movement of glaciers.