Goals of Glacial Geomorphology Lectures

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1 Goals of Glacial Geomorphology Lectures 1. Answer question: How do glaciers modulate landscape development? 2. To introduce Earth s glacial history. 3. To discuss the formation and movement of different types of glaciers. 4. To discuss glacial erosion of bedrock as well as, material deposition, and transport. 5. To review landforms developed by glaciers. z t = U - E - qs All landscapes must obey this fundamental statement about sediment transport! Geomorphic transport laws In order to make predictions of landscape change Geomorphologists need to parameterize (E and qs): E includes: Sediment production by weathering (P) Bedrock erosion by glaciers, wind, water (W) q s includes erosion and deposition by: Mass wasting transport processes Fluvial transport processes Photo courtesy of Bill Dietrich The whole landscape in one equation! 1

2 Glacial erosion processes Mohs scale Hardness Mineral Absolute Hardness 1 Talc (Mg 3 Si 4 O 10 (OH) 2 ) 1 2 Gypsum (CaSO 4 2H 2 O) 2 3 Calcite (CaCO 3 ) 9 4 Fluorite (CaF 2 ) Apatite (Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 (OH-,Cl-,F-)) Orthoclase Feldspar (KAlSi 3 O 8 ) Quartz (SiO 2 ) Topaz (Al 2 SiO 4 (OH-,F-) 2 ) Corundum (Al 2 O 3 ) Diamond (C) 1500 Ice is ~1.5 on Mohs hardness scale. As such it cannot erode bedrock on its own. Erosion requires one of the following processes: 1. Abrasion 2. Plucking (quarrying) 3. Sub-glacial water flow (carrying sediment) Glacial erosion processes Three principle processes are responsible for glacial erosion: 1. Abrasion: bedrock scour by rock debris lodged in the basal ice 2. Plucking (quarrying): where ice freezes to loose fractured bedrock and extracts blocks as it moves. 3. Sub-glacial fluvial erosion: water flow at the base of the glacier is capable of wearing bedrock if it carries sediment. Recent work by Beaud, Flowers and Venditti (esurf, 2015) suggests this source of erosion is negligable at the glacier scale but significant in channels. Selby,

3 Abrasion is controlled by 3 factors: i) basal contact pressure of tool ii) rate of basal sliding iii) concentration of tools in ice chatter marks chatter marks Polish/ striations Groove/ striations tools Abrasion, ice thickness, lithology Abrasion rates are dependent on the lithology of the tools and the bedrock Easterbrook, 1999 The ice has a carrying capacity that is linked to ice thickness. At a certain thickness, tools in the ice are no longer effective at abrading materials as the till covers the ice base Easterbrook,

4 Tools and Cover effect Bierman and Montgomery, 2014 Tumbler experiments Sklar and Dietrich (2001) Bierman and Montgomery,

Abrasion, ice thickness, lithology Abrasion rates are dependent on the lithology of the tools and the bedrock Easterbrook, 1999 The ice has a carrying capacity that is linked to ice thickness.

5 Abrasion, ice thickness, lithology Abrasion rates are dependent on the lithology of the tools and the bedrock Easterbrook, 1999 The ice has a carrying capacity that is linked to ice thickness. At a certain thickness, tools in the ice are no longer effective at abrading materials as the till covers the ice base Easterbrook, 1999 Striations photo by Karen Kleinspehn photo by Ann Dittmer

us/library/geologic_story_of_yosemite/final_evolution.

6 Polished bedrock Lassen NP, Northern California. Yosemite NP photo by Ann Dittmer 2002 Concentric chatter marks in granodiorite, Yuba Canyon Allan James 6

http://nsidc.org/glaciers/gallery/grooves.

7 Grooves Glacial grooves caused by the Wisconsin glaciation at Kelleys Island, Ohio Glacial grooves in rock panels, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Linear striations, chatter marks, polish, grooves in background Photo by John P. Lockwood 7

$Rock becomes fractured by ice expansion cracks and by pressure exerted on surface by ice or by pore water trapped$

8 Plucking One of the primary ways plucking occurs is by regelation or pressure melting of ice as it moves over an obstacle and refreezing upon expansion. Rock is plucked by ice on downstream side of obstacle. Rock becomes fractured by ice expansion cracks and by pressure exerted on surface by ice or by pore water trapped water beneath glacier. Roche Moutonnee formed by regelation Ice Flow Rock plucked from lee of bedrock knob by refreezing ice Allan James

Roche Moutonnee Rock plucked from lee of bedrock knob by refreezing ice Goncalo Vieira 2002 Geomorphic transport law for wear rate by ice At present, there is no geomorphic transport law that has

9 Roche Moutonnee Rock plucked from lee of bedrock knob by refreezing ice Goncalo Vieira 2002 Geomorphic transport law for wear rate by ice At present, there is no geomorphic transport law that has been tested against erosion rate data. Hallet (1989; Journal of Glaciology) has suggested that erosion rates are proportional to basal ice velocity (U b ) such that: Wice cu b Even without erosion data, some numerical modeling has demonstrated that this erosion rule can be used to reproduce the main characteristics of glaciated valleys. 9

Large scale characteristics landforms of glacial erosion U-shaped Valley Selby, 1985 Large scale characteristics landforms of glacial erosion Cirque: an amphitheater-shaped bedrock feature created as

10 Large scale characteristics landforms of glacial erosion U-shaped Valley Selby, 1985 Large scale characteristics landforms of glacial erosion Cirque: an amphitheater-shaped bedrock feature created as glaciers scour back into the mountain. Arete: a steep-sided, sharp-edged bedrock ridge formed by two glaciers eroding away on opposite sides of the ridge. Col: a low spot or pass along a cirque or an arete. Horn: a pyramid-shaped mountain peak created by several glaciers eroding away at different sides of the same mountain. Hanging Valley: a valley eroded by a small tributary glacier, such that the elevation of the valley floor is higher than the elevation of the valley floor that the hanging valley joins. U-Shaped Valley: a valley with a cross-section that is U shaped. 10

Cirque is an amphitheatre-like valley (or valley

http://www.nps.gov/glac/gallery/parkpics.

11 Cirque is an amphitheatre-like valley (or valley head) of glacial origin, formed by glacial erosion at the head of the glacier. Iceberg Cirque, Glacier National Park, Montana Cirque with filling lake, Juneau Icefield Cirque Cirques Cirque with tarn lake, Glacial National Park 11

12 Photo by: Sean Ross. Richard Kesel Aretes: Ridge formed between the headwalls of two cirques Angel Pass, Wind River Range, WY Cumbria England William Locke

13 Horns: Peaks formed between the headwalls of three or more cirques Randy Schaetzl 2002 Richard Kesel

14 U-Shaped valley, Tomebamba River, Ecuador Carol Harden 2002 Glacial Trough, Serra da Estrela, Portugal Goncalo Vieira

15 Glacial Trough, Norway Frank Eckardt, 2002 Hanging valley along along Kootenay river, B.C Hanging valley Glacial Trough Mariette Prent

16 Glacial Trough Formation Glacial and river-cut valleys differ in shape. Glacial U-shaped Valleys Fluvial V-shaped Valleys Valleys are cut by rivers, and subsequently modified by glaciers Harbor (1992; GSA Bulletin) explored the problem of glacial trough formation using a numerical model and assuming that: Wice cu b 3 g sin 4 4 h u( z) 2k z 4 Glacial Trough Formation Harbor s analysis suggests that initially, ice velocity, and hence erosion rates, increase towards the center of the valley where ice depth is greatest. But, a zone of lower flow exists at the valley axis. This promotes erosion of the valley walls. As this erosion continues, velocities become more uniform across the valley and the glacier incises. 16

17 Can we distinguish between valleys carved by glaciers and rivers? Generally, it is accepted that glacial and river-cut valleys differ in shape Glacial U-shaped Valleys Fluvial V-shaped Valleys Obviously, glacial deposits indicate the extent and magnitude of valley modification that has occurred by glacial processes. But, in terms of efficacy of these process, which has a greater impact on landscape form? 17

18 18

19 New Zealand Valleys excavated by glaciers are 2x to 4x larger (in cross-section and volume) and have ~500m greater relief! Glaciated Partly glaciated Unglaciated 19

Glacial deposition processes Chilliwack river valley - till Glacial deposits are derived from: 1) material eroded by plucking of bedrock at the base and sides of the glacier

20 Glacial deposition processes Chilliwack river valley - till Glacial deposits are derived from: 1) material eroded by plucking of bedrock at the base and sides of the glacier 2) abrasion of bedrock 3) pre-glacially weathered soil and sediment 4) concurrent slope processes The material has a wide variety of possible mineral and lithological characteristics. MCR Glacial deposits Near Waterloo Ontario Glacial deposits (diamictons) are typically: 1) Poorly sorted and of many different sizes 2) Massive and free of pronounced bedding 3) Composed of many different lithologies with distant sources 4) Clasts are faceted, striated, polished and aligned by ice flow 5) Compacted due to ice pressure 20

21 Till types There are essentially two types of glacial deposits: 1) Lodgement till that is deposited at the base of the glacier. Material that is smeared on the landscape when the amount of material at the base of the glacier becomes too large to carry Can often be recognized because grains are aligned with the ice flow 2) Ablation till that is deposited as the glacier recedes Generally can be recognized due to its lack of significant compaction and evidence of massive flow Depositional Landforms: Moraines There are 4 primary types of moraines: 1)Medial: formed where two valley galciers join 2)Lateral: formed at the edges of a valley glacier 3)End: formed at the head of a glacier 4)Ground: deposited from the base of glaciers in a non-uniform pattern 21

22 Alpine valley glacier: Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland Medial moraine Lateral moraine Dirk Beyer End moraine formation End moraines are formed at the nose of a glacier as it advances. Sediments are piled at the nose and left behind when the glacial ice ceases to move. Terminal moraine: records the final ice advance 22

23 End Moraine deposits Moraines of the Midwestern US formed by the Laurentide ice sheet movement 23

Ground moraine Ground moraine Otherwise undistinguished hummocky

http://uregina.ca/~sauchyn/geog323/glacial2.

Kames are simply deposits of till formed when ice is melting.

24 Ground moraine Ground moraine Otherwise undistinguished hummocky terrain formed beneath an ice sheet near Gainesville NY. Wikipedia Dead ice (ground) moraine with kames and kettles Kames are simply deposits of till formed when ice is melting. Kettles are depressions in the landscape formed when ice melted. 24

Depositional Landforms: Drumlins http://oz.plymouth.edu/~sci_ed/turski/courses/earth_science/chp5.html Drumlins: asymmetrical teardrop shaped hills.

The steep side of the hill looks toward the direction from which the ice advanced (stoss), while the longer slope follows the ice's direction of

25 Depositional Landforms: Drumlins Drumlins: asymmetrical teardrop shaped hills. Heights vary from 15 to 50 meters and they can reach a kilometer in length. The steep side of the hill looks toward the direction from which the ice advanced (stoss), while the longer slope follows the ice's direction of movement (lee). Depositional Landforms: Eskers Eskers: Channel deposits of former subglacial, englacial, or supraglacial channels; slightly sinuous ridges that vary in height along their length 25

26 = Eskers Depositional Landforms: Erratics Jackass mountain formation Mike Roberts 26

27 Glacial erratic on a sandur in Norway 27

Granodiorite boulder metamorphic rocks Allan James 2002

28 Rattlesnake Canyon in the South Yuba River drainage of the northwestern Sierra Nevada, California. Granodiorite boulder metamorphic rocks Allan James 2002 South Yuba Canyon Granodiorite boulders metamorphic rocks Allan James

29 z t = U - E - qs All landscapes must obey this fundamental statement about sediment transport! In a glaciated landscape, the various depositional processes we discussed determine the form of the mass continuity equation that is applicable. There are large volumes of glacial sediment in storage, so the glaciated landscape is transport limited. This causes a rather serious impediment to understanding rates of geomorphic processes. So we need to understand how this storage conditions the landscape. Photo courtesy of Bill Dietrich The whole landscape in one equation! In glaciated basins, there is a paraglacial effect on sediment supply to river channels Church and Ryder (1972) proposed that there is a significant lag between when glaciers leave a drainage basin and when the sediment yield returns to the rate dictated by non-glacial landscape evolution processes. 29

30 Elevation Paraglacial sediment sources How do glaciers impact landscape evolution? As we move downstream in unglaciated river basins sediment transport rates increase. Q ka s m S n Shallow flow over boulders Gravelbedded rivers Sandbedded rivers Distance from drainage divide 30

31 Sediment Yield (Mg / km 2 / day) Sediment Yield (Q s / A) How do glaciers impact landscape evolution? Sediment yield (Q s / A) should decline, meaning that all basin areas are contributing to sediment flux proportionately. Note that this happens because A is plotted on the x-axis and 1/A is plotted on the y-axis. Drainage area Sediment yield is an order of magnitude lower than in the medium and larger basins Drainage area 31

The paraglacial sedimentation cycle The upland areas of British Columbia have responded to the retreat of the glaciers, but the sediment is still stored in the main stem rivers.

32 The paraglacial sedimentation cycle The upland areas of British Columbia have responded to the retreat of the glaciers, but the sediment is still stored in the main stem rivers. It has not been delivered to the sea. The primary contemporary effect of the glaciers on landscape development is that large volumes of glacial sediment are now stored in terraces, fans, and river beds/floodplains. Thus, the rate of landscape denudation is out of equilibrium with the non-glacial processes. 32

Goals of Glacial Geomorphology Lectures

Goals of Glacial Geomorphology Lectures 1. Answer question: How do glaciers modulate landscape development? 2. To introduce Earth s glacial history. 3. To discuss the formation and movement of different