Name:________________________________
Visit:
http://gemini.oscs.montana.edu/~geol445/hyperglac/systems1/ (instructions for
submission of this assignment are at the end of the document)
You’ll find that some of the links don’t work, but the important ones do.
PLEASE DO NOT COPY/PASTE YOUR ANSWERS…IT WILL BE VERY OBVIOUS
TO ME!!!
How does glacial ice form? (you can refer to the animation if helpful)
How does it deform?
What is the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA)?
Explain the significance of the ELA to glacial health. Give an example.
Scroll down to the section on glacial FLOW.
Why does a glacier flow? What does a glacier resemble?
At the bottom right of the screen click on ON TO MORPHOLOGY. When you get to
that page, scroll to the bottom and click on ON TO GLACIERS WITH SPACE.
Where are most of today’s glaciers located? What does it take to “grow” a glacier?
Why does less solar radiation penetrate in polar regions?
Scroll down to glaciers and climate.
What are the main climatic characteristic differences between temperate glaciers and
polar glaciers?
On to GLACIERS WITH TIME!
Click on GEOLOGIC TIME AND GLACIAL CYCLES.
What is the meaning of a glacial period versus and interglacial period?
Under the heading “Holocene Glaciation” (the Holocene is the geologic time period that
we are currently in) look at the picture of the Ptarmigan Glacier. Referring to the terminal
moraines marked on the photo, what has the glacier been doing the past 100 years?
On to PLATE TECTONICS AND GLACIER FORMATION.
Scroll to the bottom and click on MILANKOVITCH CYCLES.
Who is Milankovitch?
What three cycles of Earth’s movement did he mathematically describe?
Explain (in your own words) what eccentricity is and how it effects glaciation on Earth.
Explain how the Earth’s tilt (your textbook calls this obliquity) may have an effect on
glaciation.
Earth’s precession (wobble) adds a bit of randomness to the system. What is the result of
this wobble?
And finally…
Why are these cycles important?
SUBMISSION: Save this file to your documents (remember where you saved it)
WITH YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME IN THE FILE NAME. Then close this
window and drag and drop the file into the CLASS TEMP drive into the PRINKEY
folder.