36. Glacial Degradation and Aggradation

Glacier retreats overtime in Athabasca Glacier, Alberta, Canada. May 2014.

Athabasca Glacier and the Glacial Processes

Cryosphere, the sphere of frozen water, became the central topic when talking about the Glacier (body of ice) and the snow cover by it. Mountain (Alpine) Glaciers are the one that we observed in the Athabasca Glacier, where they contain many steep slopes (also called valley glaciers). Glaciers had went through a long history such as the ice age, where they expand and develop glacial ice (the process is also called glaciation). However, the glaciers are more likely to undergo deglaciation in which they melt and recede. Like the Athabasca Glacier, the glaciers are retreating while motivated by the force of gravity. This is why glaciers are in open system, they often influenced by the forces externally.