By Dr Alex Clark Why Ireland? Ice sheets provide valuable clues on how they behaved thousands of years in the past through the dramatic landscapes they create. And you may struggle to find a more elaborate signature than on the island of Ireland, scribbled out by the last British-Irish Ice Sheet approximately 30,000 to 15,000 […]
The Last British-Irish Ice Sheet in Northeast Ireland Read More »
This UAV article was written by Lauren Rawlins, University of York This article introduces UAVs, or drones, and how we can use them in glaciology and geomorphology. We can stitch together the thousands of images taken from a UAV from vantage point high in the sky to create new high-resolution image and 3D model of
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This article was written by Dr Hannah Bickerdike. The glaciation of the upland areas of Britain during the Younger Dryas left behind a distinctive system of landforms across Scotland, the Lake District, Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons. Different parts of Britain were characterised by a different style of glaciation. See more on our Introduction to
Plateau icefield landsystem of upland Britain Read More »
This article was written by Dr Hannah Bickerdike. The Loch Lomond Stadial in Britain Between 12,900 and 11,700 years ago, gradual warming of Britain’s climate was interrupted by a sudden period of renewed cooling. During this period, known as the Loch Lomond or Younger Dryas Stadial, glaciers regrew in many areas of upland Britain. Evidence
Alpine icefield landsystem of upland Britain Read More »
By Dr Sam Roberson, British Geological Survey, Belfast Glaciation of Ireland during the Devensian The island of Ireland has been glaciated many times during the Quaternary period. The last glaciation in Ireland is referred to historically as the ‘Midlandian’, but now, the British-Irish term ‘Devensian’ is more commonly used. During the Devensian, the British-Irish Ice
The Irish Ice Sheet Read More »
This article on glacial geomorphological mapping was written by Dr Benjamin Chandler from Stockholm University. Why do we map glacial landforms? Geomorphological mapping is an important method used by glacial geologists to study the behaviour of past glaciers and ice sheets1. By mapping the distribution of glacial landforms and investigating the spatial relationships between different
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Ice-dammed lakes are a common feature of glaciated mountain ranges. They form wherever glacial ice blocks the drainage of rivers or meltwater. This includes: where a glacier blocks a trunk or tributary valley; and where a glacier fills an overdeepened valley created by glacial erosion Today, ice-dammed lakes exist at the margins of many mountain
Ice-dammed lake landsystems Read More »
This section of ‘AntarcticGlaciers’ deals with valley glaciers and the landsystems they create. Before diving into examples from specific glacier systems, we suggest first reading the Introduction to glaciated valley landsystems page, which covers valley glacier behaviour and how this influences the landforms and sediments they leave in the landscape. Videos This video shows some
Glaciated valley landsystems Read More »
Ice streams are corridors of fast-flowing ice within ice sheets that are flanked on either side by slowly moving ice1. Palaeo-ice streams are ice streams that existed in former ice sheets2,3, such as the continental ice sheets that grew during the last Ice Age. Glaciologists know that these palaeo-ice streams existed as they left a
Palaeo-ice stream landsystem Read More »
“Glacial Landsystems” are assemblages of characteristic glacial sediments and landforms. Different types of glacier deposit different assemblages of these sediments and landforms. The study of glacial landsystems can therefore give us information about the type and style of palaeoglaciers, and give us insights into glacial processes. You can also view our work on the plateau
Glacial landsystems Read More »
