h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*rushes in to hear about glaciofluvial things*

The question is...To what extent are fluvio-glacial landforms distinctive?

It's not actually my essay but I'm doing it for a friend because she's not feeling good and has tons of other homework to do...plus I enjoy geography.

So where do you live and...woooowww!!!

OK- from a geologist!

Glaciofluvial landforms are made of well sorted, stratified sediment. They are formed as a result of water interacting with the glacial environment.

One of the most distinctive is the esker- it is a long, sinuous ridge of sand and gravel, deposited by a stream flowing under the ice. Another is a kame- a sand and gravel hill deposited by a chunk of ice a retreating glacier left behind. There's also outwash- sediment deposited by melted ice.

Hope that helped a little!

I live in northeast Ohio, in the city of Akron. You?

Thank you! I'll run what I've written by you in a bit.
I live in England...in the Midlands. So there isn't much glacial evidence lying around for me to poke
Before I got expelled I wanted to be a geography teacher because I enjoy it and find teaching easy. However now...well...now I do other people's geography homework for them

Go down south to France, or up north to Ireland- there's loads there!

You might want to be careful- does the report have to be referenced?

No it's just an exam question.




To what extent are fluvio-glacial landforms distinctive?

Glaciofluvial erosion occurs when meltwater streams flow under glacial ice. High levels of pressure are caused in the flowing water due to the narrowness of the channels, and these streams, loaded with rock and debris are very powerful erosional forces.
When glaciers melt, the deposit left behind, drift, can be often separated into two catagories: stratified and unstratified. Unstratified deposition, known as till, has been simply dumped by the melting glacier. It consists of large angular rock pieces, mixed with fine particles. The land forms left by unstratified deposit is known as moraine.
Stratified deposition however, is left by fluvioglacial errosion. This deposition is characterised by the sorting of different sizes and consistencies of rock. The particles are generally smoother and more rounded than till, and have there are large amounts of sand and silt. This is because they have been subject to the erosional force of fast flowing water and attrition within the glacial streams. This deposit is carried beyond the ice front by the meltwater streams. This can form into several fluvioglacial landforms.

One of the most distinctive glaciofluvio landforms is the esker. Eskers are narrow ridges of sand and gravel deposited by glacial streams. They are generally roughly parallel to the original glacial path. The stratified layers of rock mark them clearly as glaciofluvial constructions.
Kames are irregular mounds of sand and gravel formed from the alluvial (river deposition) fans left by glacial streams. They are often at the snout. The fan collapses when the ice melts, leaving behind the depositional mound. A kame terrace is formed when meltwater streams flow along side glacial ice. It is a flat topped ridge formed from the stratified sediment.
Kettle holes, are another result of fluvioglacial erosion. These are small depressions caused by large blocks of ice breaking off the glacier and becoming partly submerged in outwash material. They then form lakes and ponds when the ice melts.
Outwash plains are the largest indicators of glaciofluvial activity. These are formed by the large amounts of meltwater flowing from the glacier. Gravel, sand and silt are carried by the water and deposited at the margins of the ice. Outwash plains are characterised by braided stream channels and large amounts of alluvial deposition. Huge areas of East Anglia are covered in outwash.

Sounds good- you might want to add that while the particles are well sorted by size, they are poorly sorted by composition, indicating varied source area. Also, because of (usually) short distance of transport, they are angular or subrounded, as compared to rounded in normal streams.

Thank everything that's over with! I hate writing about glaciation. It's one of those things that I find almost as boring as teaching about farming. Oh yes I did once teach farming in geography and it was one of the most unruly classes I've ever had.
So how's it going with you then? What are you up to? Anything terribly exciting!?

I am gong crazy! I've got an essay on dams and water quality due tomorrow!

You know in Australia they teach high school kids that the water in the UK is really really bad....have you ever been told that?

No, never.

Oh i feel more secure about that then...what do they tell you about UK water in Ohio?

By the by know any Danish researchers?

They don't really tell us anything about UK water in Ohio...

No, I don't know any Danish researchers, and I'd like to learn the language, but I'm a little pressed for time and brainpower at the moment! That's why I responded with only the one word in the game thread. Maybe over break

Well never mind. Drop into any of the departments whenever you can. As you can imagine it's quite a free flowing things. I've been having to try and find new teachers for a lot of the things which is proving more difficult than I expected.

What stage of uni are you at?

Uuuuuuuuhhhh I posted 14 messages to various European researchers who might be coaxed into joining us. Do you think active recruiting might be a bit...naughty?

I'd be careful There's house rules about spamming. Just make sure you don't do it anymore.

I'm in my last year of undergrad work, and then it's off for my Masters degree!

No spamming or flooding. On h2g2, spamming is the posting of the same (or very similar) messages to lots of forums. Flooding is when the same (or very similar) message is posted over and over again to the same conversation. It's especially antisocial if it's off-topic for those forums. So please don't deliberately send the same message, or very similar messages, to loads of different Conversation Forums, or post the same message to one Conversation multiple times. We'll simply remove your Postings, and possibly your account.




I think it should be okay...it's to individual researchers so it wont turn up tons in peoples spaces. It's relevant to every researcher because they were all translators previously before it was shut down...

*worries*
I think I should be able to explain it away if I get in trouble.
How long's your masters for? This is in geology right? What do you plan to do when you're all finished?

Well, if it's to Pre-Foop translators, then by all means!

Yes, my masters will be in geology! What else? It'll take two years, maybe a little more or less, but more than likely two years. After that, I might go to work for either government or an environmental firm, or maybe go for my PhD!