Hydrology...Oceanography...Limnology...Glaciology! Oh, too many to count! - Introduction to Glaciology

Grades 6-8Science

Jul 19

Written By Meera Bhakta- CuriouSTEM Staff

If you are thinking that Glaciology sounds a lot like the word glacier, you are right! Glaciology is the study of any type of ice in the environment including glaciers, snow, and sea ice! This can have anything to do with ice structure to flow and the way it is made. It is incredibly unique because glaciological research is done in so many different ways. For example, radar sounding is used to study the internal pieces of glaciers while measurements of boreholes and tunnels in the ice are used to identify how much glaciers are moving. Glaciology is important because these forms of ice serve as freshwater repositories, storing frozen water in the cold, and later releasing it when temperatures are warmer.

Glaciology applies to ice anywhere across the planet, so glaciologists have a large field to study. Ice from the atmosphere can sometimes even be studied! However, glaciers are the most prominently studied bodies of ice. Glaciologists begin by classifying different types of ice based on density. The different densities are represented in Roman numerals. This is done because the different types of ice found around the world can be frozen into unique structures, making them very distinctive. We can see this as glaciers are formed with grand buildups of pressure which causes them to have less air while normal ice does not have pressure exerted on it!

Because there are so many forms of ice, and it is difficult to study them all, glaciers are the primary focus of this field. Glaciers are large, moving formations of ice that are close to land. They are created by sheets of ice forming on top of each other to create a giant ice structure, and they move due to gravity because of their huge weight. As these layers form and the glacier becomes thicker, more weight is pressed into the ground and the lower layers, reducing the amount of air between the sheets of ice. Glaciers are only found in extremely cold regions because the snow will never be able to completely melt. Because of friction that will occur with the ground as the glacier moves, some ice will come off the glacier and melt, but it will refreeze when the temperatures get cold enough again.

As mentioned above, the classification of different ice structures varies. Glaciers are also classified based on temperature. For temperature, they are described in relation to the pressure melting point. The pressure melting point is the temperature where the ice under pressure will melt. This is different from the typical melting point (or freezing point) of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or zero degrees celsius because when there is more pressure, the melting point is lower. Warm glaciers can be found in the alps, and these glaciers are often more mobile than other types because they are at pressure melting points. The opposite, a cold glacier, has temperatures extremely far from the pressure melting point, so the ice will not begin to melt. These are often found in Antarctica. The last category of temperature classification for a glacier is called a subpolar glacier, and these glaciers are colder on the outside than on the inside. These can be found near Norway, northern Scandinavia, and the Arctic Ocean.

Glaciology also has connections to geomorphology, the study of landforms and other topographical features. There is a connection here because geomorphologists can study glaciers to understand details like how they maintain or form a particular shape. For example, mountain glaciers often melt and flow through a stream during summer. This process increases the sharpness and steepness of surrounding mountains because of the weathering caused by the water. Meanwhile, in places like Alaska and Antarctica, the piedmont glaciers are just large collections of ice, and they melt more gently. Isn’t it crazy how we can even describe the way ice melts as sharp or soft?

Currently, due to the widespread climate changes and global warming, glaciers and different forms of ice are constantly changing. While some glaciers are disintegrating at a constant rate, others have suddenly and rapidly lost surface area and volume. Environmentalists are hard at work studying these patterns to detect specific characteristics that can provide them with more insight on features of global warming and its effects on the ice structures. It is important to do our part to educate others about this crisis and reuse, reduce, and recycle more to help preserve our world.