Glaciers pick
up material in
2 ways: 1) the
ice freezes
around rocks
& stones
under
glaciers. Then
it tugs or
plucks them
out. 2) The
plucked rocks
& stones
scrape bits off
the glacier
bed, as they
are carried
along. This is
called
abrasion.
Freeze-thaw
weathering
makes
plucking
easier. First,
water under
the glacier
freezes in
cracks of
rocks. The
cracks fill
with water. It
freezes again.
The ice thaws
again. And so
on...... until
the cracks are
so big it break
the rock.
2. Transport
The glaciers
carries away
the material
it has eroded.
1) As the
glacier
pushes
along,
material
that falls
onto it is
carried on
top. 2)
Some is
carried
inside the
glacier.
Ex: debris
that fell
into
crevasses
3) A lot of
material
is frozen
into the
base of
the
glacier.
3. Deposition
As it goes
down a
mountain, it
gets warmer,
so eventually
the glacier
reaches a
place where it
melts.
As the ice
melt, the load
it's carrying
falls to the
ground- as
rocks, stones,
sand & clay,
all mixed up.
This mixture
is called
glacial till.
The water
from the
melting ice is
called
meltwater. It
runs off & will
feed a river or
a lake.
Meanwhile,
higher up in
the mountain
snow keeps
on feeding the
glacier. So it
keeps on
flowing down
to the place
where it
melts.