Category: Glaciers

Caves are wonderful creations of nature that manage to incorporate the magic of discovery and the horror of claustrophobia. Although caves are typically associated with cavities in soil rather than ice, the areas that are covered in the latter may also contain caverns as the phenomenon of ice caves in Cincinnati, OH shows. A recent visit that I paid to the Ohio Museum of Natural History and Science has shown that the properties of the local caverns can be simulated in the museum environment and that the model in question can be used to display the key processes occurring in the specified environment, therefore, creating premises for the analysis of the designated area and creating forecasts regarding the further changes in the specified caverns.

The phenomenon of an ice cave is typically defined as the tunnels in the upper layer of the ground that lies on the glacier bed. Glaciers, in their turn, can be viewed as the environment, in which ice caverns can be formed. In other words, glaciers serve as the foundation for the development of the cave. The conditions that the Cincinnati environment offers can be deemed as rather favorable for the development of ice caverns. A closer look at the location of Ohio, in general, and Cincinnati, in particular, will reveal that most of the area under analysis is glaciated, i.e., located over a layer of glaciers. As Fig. 1 shows, the environment of Ohio has created premises for the development of caverns in the ice deposits.

Therefore, the specified area was predisposed to the creation of ice caverns. The trip to the museum and the visit of the cave has shown that the tunnels separate the glacial ice and the bedrock lying beneath. One must give the museum members credit for creating the environment that allows for a thorough and in-depth exploration of the phenomenon of Ohio caverns. For instance, the fact that the caves were created owing to the development of karst in the specified area should be brought up as one of the essential pieces of information regarding the Ohio ice caves.

In addition, the exploration of the cave allowed understanding the composition and structure of the ice caverns. Particularly, it became obvious that the Ohio cave system is represented by two key types of caves. First and most obvious, the famous ice caves deserve to be mentioned. Composed primarily of water, the designated type of caverns, however, was underrepresented in the museum. The reasons for the specified issue to occur are quite obvious; replicating the caverns made of frozen water is a rather complicated task.

The caverns that the museum actually had to offer were composed of limestone. The specified type of caves is not related to the glacier that the Ohio state partially resides on. Instead, limestone caves exist due to the groundwater movement and the gradual erosion of the soil. Despite the lack of connection to the actual glacier-based caverns, the specified type of caves was represented rather well by the museum owners.

Specifically, the composition of the caves in Ohio was displayed rather accurately in the museum. For instance, the limestone basis of the cave could be easily identified. The specified characteristics of the cave align with the structure of the Ohio caverns, which have a limestone layer at the top of their basis. According to the existing characteristics of the Ohio caverns, the specified feature of the museum caverns cannot be deemed as quite correct. Particularly, the fact that the limestone layer is represented by a large number of stalactites and stalagmites(Fig. 2) should be brought up as one of the key characteristics of the Ohio caves, as demonstrated in the museum.

The caves in the museum, therefore, can be characterized by the limestone coating and the solid bedrock foundation. The temperature in the specified environment is kept at 54° F, which can be deemed as rather close to the natural settings. The humidity rates in the caverns, in their turn, are extremely high, reaching the mark of 90% (“What Awaits You on a Trip to Ohio Caverns?” par. 2). Consequently, it can be assumed that the tour in the limestone tunnels that the museum offered was the exact representation of the Ohio limestone caves environment.

One must admit, though, that visiting the museum and viewing the replicas of the actual caves, though providing new opportunities of exploring the geological structure for the local area, still could not display the essential characteristics of the subject matter fully. As it has been stressed above, the ice caves, which can be deemed the unique characteristics of Ohio, in general, and Cincinnati, in particular, were not included in the museum tour. The geological characteristics thereof, however, are worth taking a closer look at.

The ice caves of Ohio owe their existence to the calcite and aragonite accumulating in the ground and, therefore, creating the pathway for the further development of caves. In other words, the karst landscape of Ohio was created due to soil erosion. Seeing that limestone is rather soluble, the flow of the groundwater in the channels of Ohio soil triggered the development of a branched cave system.

One should note, though, that the trip to the museum did not provide enough information on the phenomenon known as the Ohio crystal caves. The specified type of caves stands in sharp contrast to the limestone caves represented in the museum. Instead of the bedrock foundation and the limestone coating, which the latter can be characterized by, the given cavern type owes its existence to the mineralization processes occurring in the crust of the earth (White and Culver 89). As a result, the specified type of caverns is represented by the unique crystal lining, as shown in Fig. 3 below.

The trip to the museum has shed a lot of light on the geological processes that have been occurring in the Ohio area, in general, and Cincinnati, in particular. For instance, the mechanism of the ice caverns development in ice glaciers finally became obvious to me. In addition, the trip to the museum has shown that the process of caverns formation is not over yet. Although it is finite, it still takes place and is likely to occur for several centuries more.

In other words, the trip to the museum has allowed viewing the history of the Ohio glaciers development and identifying the patterns thereof. The museum allowed a full exploration of the unique environment of the karst landscape of the Ohio caverns. This insightful and unique trip clearly offers a lot of food for thoughts and inspires further study of the subject matter more thoroughly.

Works Cited

Celestite – Coelestin – Celestite – Celestita n. d. Web.

EEES Geology n. d. Web.

What Awaits You on a Trip to Ohio Caverns? n. d. Web.

White, William B., and David C. Culver. Encyclopedia of Caves. New York City, NY: Academic Press, 2013. Print.

Glaciers are very fascinating and a delight to see, the beauty of a glacier is one of its kinds. It is very different from ice, the physical aspect of a glacier is very interesting, and the height of a glacier is another extraordinary factor that makes it very interesting. The color of the snow on a glacier is exotic and a delight to witness.

Ice has many startling properties. The most important component that makes up a glacier is ice and the way it gets accumulated is a very interesting process. Understanding the distinct properties of ice is and its accumulation is really interesting. Ice has plastic as well as brittle properties, these properties become evident when ice is subjected to pressure. The stress on ice bends the ice and it bends primarily because of its brittleness and pressure. The brittleness of ice is thrown light upon in this specific case.

When the plastic properties of ice are demonstrated, it becomes very difficult to demonstrate them on a smaller scale. When subjected to pressure, the ice melts much quicker and faster. It melts almost completely when the pressure is roughly about subzero. This is exactly how glaciers flow and become a real treat to watch. The color of the ice on the glaciers is another treat factor that catches the immediate attention of the people who have interest in nature and even those who don’t have real interest in nature are often captivated by the beauty of glaciers.. All these factors make glaciers extremely interesting and a delight to watch.

The way ice melts is another fascinating factor and to conclude, it is very fair to say that glaciers are a very big mystery and there are numerous other facts that are hidden which might be unraveled as years pass by.

The formation of glaciers takes place at a place where there are large deposits of ice and even larger ice melts. The ice slowly gets accumulated and forms glaciers. The snow and ice becomes thick and starts getting drifted away and finally join together to form glaciers. This is an extremely interesting process and the more we go in-depth, the more pleasure we can derive out of this wonderful process. The layers of ice and snow create a great pressure and this turns into granular ice and then slowly turns into glacier ice. This ice has certain distinct properties, like it is very thick when compared to the normal ice and it is much more brittle than normal ice and this is exactly why it helps in the formation of glaciers.

“The distinctive blue tint of glacial ice is very often wrongly believed to contribute towards Rayleigh scattering due to bubbles in the ice.” (Glaciers, 29 April 2009). “The blue color is created for the very same reason because water is blue, that is, it slightly absorbs red light due to an overtone of the infrared OH stretching mode of the water molecule.” (Glaciers, 29 April 2009). All these factors make glaciers extremely interesting and a delight to watch. All these factors make glaciers very interesting to watch and the way they are formed is even more interesting and exciting.

Works Cited

Glaciers. In the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Web.

Glaciers. In World View. 2009. Web.

Mass balance is a critical yet straightforward process through which the ocean may control ice in ocean water to prevent rising sea levels. In other words, it is the quantitative expression of changes in the volume of the glacier over a specific period. The process’s primary goal is to create an equilibrium between ocean water and the amount of frost that is submerged (Shepherd et al., 2020). The entire process requires such inputs as rain, snow, and hail to help promote the accumulation and output, such as erosion, percolation, and melting of the ice to assist in the reduction of the ice.

The glacier mass is linked to the mass balance through a constant struggle to maintain the equilibrium state. In most cases, both the input and output processes must continue to promote the accumulation and the removal of excessive matters through the ablation process. In most cases, the collection of the glacier material is regarded as positive, while a high reduction level is referred to as a negative change (Shepherd et al., 2020). Therefore, the entire process is critical for the promotion of ocean water stability.

Based on the above diagram, it is evident that glacial materials must move in a different direction to promote the required mass balance in ice. On the one end, these materials must strive to accumulate through the various input processes, such as precipitation, snow, and organic materials (Shepherd et al., 2020). On the other hand, the oblation process must dissolve and move the materials, hence the experienced movement in different directions.

In conclusion, mass balance is a necessary development that occurs in oceans to promote stability. In most cases, the process is facilitated by the constant movement of the water body’s inputs and outputs. These developments are critical in the realization of glaciers’ constant flow in the sea. Therefore, people should understand the principle operation of mass balance to prevent the excessive rising of the sea levels.

Reference

Shepherd, A., Ivins, E., Rignot, E., Smith, B., van Den Broeke, M., Velicogna, I., Whitehouse, P., Briggs, K., Joughin, I., Krinner, G., Nowicki, S., Payne, T., Scambos, T., Schlegel, N., Agosta, C., Ahlstrøm, A., Babonis, G., Barletta, V., Bjørk, A., … Wuite, J. (2020). Mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2018. Nature, 579(7798), 233-239. Web.

The forces that the earth possesses have the ability of moving tectonic plates, in turn, creating volcanoes and ranges. These forces whose energy is obtained from the sun, have the ability of destroying mountain chains. This paper aims at discussing numerous erosional and depositional landforms, which appeared as a result of glaciers and rivers.

Some of the erosional landforms are arete, cirque, col, groove, hanging valley, headwall, horn, paternoster lakes, striations, tarn, truncated spur, and u- shaped valley (Peizhen, Peter and William 894).

An arete refers to a bedrock ridge that has sharp edges and steep sides. It is formed of two glaciers, which are located on opposite sides of the ridge. A col refers to a little spot that is found either on an arête or cirque.

A cirque is a bedrock feature, which can be either in the form of amphitheater or it can be semicircular-shaped. They are formed when glaciers are scouring in the mountains. The ice that leads to the development of the glacier accumulates here first. In other words, a cirque is glacier’s headwaters. The headwall is a cirque’s steep back- wall (Benn et al 380).

Paternoster lakes refer to a long sequence of lakes, which are found in a glacial valley. A horn refers to a mountain peak, which is shaped like a pyramid, and which appears as a result of erosion of several glaciers at various sides of a mountain. A tarn refers to a glacial lake, which is formed as a result of scouring. Tarns are usually common in cirques. A truncated spur refers to a split, which is created as glaciers are forming valley. A U- shaped valley is also referred to as a glacial trough, and it is a valley that is eroded glacially.

There are several types of moraines, which constitute depositional landforms. A moraine refers to the collection of unconsolidated materials, which result from glaciers. The various types of moraines have different appearances (Fort 107). In end moraines, the material gathers at the schnozzle end. In ground moraines, the material gathers right under the glacier’s foundation. Finally, in medial moraines, the moraine is at the middle and its top.

Apart from moraines, other depositional landforms include esker, kame, and outwash fan. A kame is a hillock with an irregular shape. An outwash fan refers to a braided stream, which begins from the front side of a glacier (Milton 4040).

As opposed to a river, a glacier entirely fills a valley. Therefore, a glacier possesses more eroding power. It is not necessarily that a glacier winds around intertwining spurs. Moreover, its valleys can be subjected to other transformations. A misfit stream refers to an extremely minute stream at a glacial trough’s bottom, which is usually too minute to form the valley.

In conclusion, it must be highlighted that there are various types of erosional and depositional landforms that are associated with the creation of glaciers and rivers. Their study is extremely vital taking into consideration the continuous formation of volcanoes. In order to comprehend rivers and glaciers, there is a need to study them comprehensively. This allows the differentiation of minute and stringent characteristics and features. In this regard, geologists have a demanding role in ensuring differentiation of the various landforms.

Works Cited

Benn, Douglas I., et al. “Glaciated valley land systems.” Glacial landsystems (2003): 372-406. Print.

Fort, Monique. “Glaciers and mass wasting processes: their influence on the shaping of the Kali Gandaki valley (higher Himalaya of Nepal).” Quaternary International 65 (2000): 101-119. Print.

Milton, Daniel J. “Water and processes of degradation in the Martian landscape.”Journal of Geophysical Research 78.20 (1973): 4037-4047. Print.

Peizhen, Zhang, Peter Molnar, and William R. Downs.”Increased sedimentation rates and grain sizes 2–4 Myr ago due to the influence of climate change on erosion rates.”Nature 410.6831 (2001): 891-897. Print.

The sea level is rising faster than predicted. Melting glaciers can lead to catastrophic consequences; some regions of the world are at risk of flooding. In modern realities, the rate of warming of the World’s Oceans has increased. The active emission of carbon dioxide facilitates it into the atmosphere. If emissions are not reduced, the ocean will become more acidic and less habitable. In addition, the ocean is threatened by the processes occurring in the cryosphere. Global warming provokes the melting of ice in Greenland and Antarctica.

Some cities could be underwater by 2050, according to the latest UN report on the state of the oceans, polar regions, and ice sheets. Los Angeles, Bangkok, New York, Barcelona, and Miami are among them. Jeff Goodell also noted in his book that post-hurricane Miami in 2037 will become a popular destination for diving adventures (Goodell, 2018). Goodell gives examples of trying to prevent disasters and fight against the elements, highlighting that the most technologically amazing solutions are not always the best. Large and costly engineering projects are often controversial and can result in cost overruns. Solutions such as an almost fully built floating barrier or levee or sea walls can protect cities, but there is no guarantee, considering that they are located less than six feet above the tide.

Goodell, however, acknowledges that sea levels have fluctuated throughout human and geological history, so accurate forecasting in this area is impossible. However, any technological solution can fail if it miscalculates the severity of sea-level rise. A wall that holds six feet of water is useless if the oceans are eight feet inflated. In his book, Goodell warns people against their recklessness, which can affect the situation in nature and prevent the terrible consequences of negligence.

Reference

Goodell, J. (2018). The water will come: Rising seas, sinking cities, and the remaking of the civilized world. Black Inc.