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Geomorphological Studies of the Himalayan Glaciers in Brief: Geomorphological Facts

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Geomorphological Studies of the Himalayan Glaciers in Brief: Geomorphological Facts See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325649400 Geomorphological studies of the Himalayan Glaciers in brief: Geomorphological Facts Book · October 2013 CITATIONS READS 0 681 1 author: Pradeepika Kaushik Banasthali University 5 PUBLICATIONS 5 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Pradeepika Kaushik on 08 June 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. !"#"$%"&"'()& *+'!* " '#)&),)- &)('!$*. / % 0 ) ' # % 1 #* 2 + ' 3455 - *6'-*%'$! $ 7 + 8 '-') ( $ $ '* ! ! ! " # $ !% ! & $ ' ' ($ ' # % % ) %* %' $ ' + " % & ' ! # $, ( $ - . ! "- ( % . % % % % $ $ $ - - - - // $$$ 0 1"1"#23." 4& )*5/ +) * !6 !& 7!8%779:9& % ) - 2 ; ! * & /- <:=9>4& )*5/ +) "3 " & :=9> CONTENTS Page No. PREFACE i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii CHAPTER-I GLACIER AND ITS GEOMORPHOLOGY 1-5 1.1 Geomorphology of Glacier and its Origin 1 1.2 Glacier Movement 3 1.3 TheIceAge 4 CHAPTER-II DISTRIBUTION OF GLACIERS 6-12 2.1 Distribution of Glaciers aroundthe World 6 2.2 Distribution of Glaciers in Indian Himalayan Region 7 CHAPTER-III CLASSIFICATION OF GLACIERS 13-19 3.1 Classification of Glaciers 13 3.2 Glaciers Classification Based On Different Features 16 CHAPTER-IV GLACIERS SURFACE FEATURES 20-29 4.1 Accumulation zone 20 4.2 Ablationzone 21 4.3 Snout 21 4.4 Other glacier surface features 22 CHAPTER-5 GEOMORPHOLOGICAL GLACIAL LANDFORMS 30-45 5.1 Erosional Processes 31 5.2 Erosional landforms 33 5.3 Depositional landforms 40 5.4 Glacio-Fluvial landforms 42 CONCLUSIONS 46 REFERENCES 47 PREFACE During the past decades rapid physical and chemical changes have taken place in glaciers of the Himalayan region. Hence, scope of studies of different geomorphological glacier features and landforms ie. erosional and depositional have been erased. The geomorphology of Himalayan glacier is changed due to different physical agent such as temperature, pressure, climatic factor etc. The present project deals with the “GEOMORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES OF HIMALAYAN GLACIERS”. Work addresses the different climatic and physical factors which have been involved for the formation of different geomorphogical features of glaciers and its formations. Present study would be helpful to deciphering the importance of glaciers and its behaviour in respect of environmental and climate impact within the global context. Although detailed geomorphological studies of the Himalayan glaciers have not been studied due to short duration of time, but I hope that this project work is short summary to understand the basic geomorphological features of the Himalayan glacier region. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is my pleasure to express my deep sense of gratitude and thanks to my external guide, Shri Deepak Srivastava, Consultant (Centre for Glaciology) and Dr. D.P. Dhobal (Scientist-D) at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun for providing me the necessary infrastructure facilities, his valuable guidance, suggestions, whole hearted co-operation and supervision. I am greatly indebted, Professor Prof. Anil Kumar Gupta, director of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology for providing me the possible facilities. I wish to express my deep sense of overwhelming gratitude to Prof. U.C Singh, Head, School of studies in Earth Science, Jiwaji University, Gwalior who inspired me to carry out this project work. His critical suggestions at every step, especially at the completion of this project work, helped me in completing the work effectively. I am greatly thankful to Dr.Manish Mehta Research Associate, their suggestions and guidance at every stage of the work. I am also thankful to Mr.Amit Kumar Walia and Mr. Rakesh Bhambri, research associate for their suggestions at every stage of the dissertation work. I owe my sincere thanks to all Junior Research Fellow Mr.Bhanu Thakur, Mr.Akshay Verma, Mr. Amit Kumar, Mr. Kapil Kesarwani, Miss Harika Munagapati, Mr. Priyeshu Srivastava for their invaluable support & moral help. I specially thanks to my loved one Dr.Santosh K Pandey. I heartly thankful to my work mate Miss Azra Irshad, Laitonjam Hemanjit Singh, Thangjam Rahul Singh for their support, suggestions and help for the preparation of this dissertation work. At last but not the least, I feel highly obliged by my Father Late. Mahesh Chandra Kaushik, and my Mother Late. Lata Kaushik, and my Sisters and Brother who are great source of moral support to me and without their encouragement and blessing, this work would have not taken the present shape. PRADEEPIKA KAUSHIK ii Chapter I GLACIER AND ITS GEOMORPHOLOGY 1.1 Geomorphology of Glacier and Its Origin Geomorphology (Greek word) means the “Science of earth landforms” which is formed by different process of different agency i.e.: River, Wind, Glaciers etc. Glaciers are receding and advance in yearly but behind it left some features on earth surfaces. These features are study in geomorphology. Geomorphology is the scientific study of landscapes and the processes that shapes them. The science of geomorphology has two major goals. One is to organizes and systematize the description of landscapes by intellectually acceptable scheme of classification. The other is to recognize in landscape evidence for changes in the processes that are shaping and have shaped them. The scientist who describe the analysis, systematic description, and understanding of landscape and the processes that change them are Geomorphologists. According to Geomorphologist the Glacier “is a consequence of ice age” or it is mass of ice which moves downwards under the impact of gravity and must have different dimension. Glaciers are formed due to accumulation of snow at earth surface. Snow line is a line between permanent and seasonal snow. About 10% of earth surfaces are now covered by glaciers. Glaciers are formed by the long process of dynamic and thermal metamorphism on snow. Conversion of Snow into Ice Ice is both a mineral and rock, which under the temperature and the earth surface is exceptionally unstable. Wherever water freeze under the lakes, the sea, the atmosphere, and the ground. The resulting kind of ice has distinctive characteristics. And the most distinctive and remarkable kind is glacier ice. The snow has low specific gravity and high porosity. These properties together with irregular shapes of flakes. Snow exchange moisture readily with the adjacent air, at low temperature by sublimation, at higher temperature, near the melting point, by evaporation. As the snow flakes gradually change shape, and cluster of them are converted into nearly spherical grains, settles and become more compact. 1 If this compaction continues, air is forced out from the diminishing intergranular space. When permeability to air becomes zero and firn converted to ice. These changes are occurring when density has increased about 8.3 normally the density of glacier ice varies, from 0.8 to 0.9. Fig. 1: Conversion from Snow to Glacier ice The time required for the conversion of snow into ice varies with the rates of accumulation of snow and with temperature is estimates to range from 1 year to 300 years or even more and the depth at which conversion to ice become complete also varies greatly. If the temperature becomes so high then granular snow become to melt and percolating in downward direction. When the glacial ice is formed then it has various thickness at various location .The average thickness of ice sheet is around 2 km for large ice sheet with maximum thickness is 4.2 km (Antarctica ice sheet). The aggregate volume of glacier ice in the northern hemisphere was roughly twice that in the southern .This difference arose from the fact that Antarctic ice could not spread far beyond the Antarctic continent .It broke up in the ocean and floated away. As, In the Antarctic ice sheet, it reaches large value more than 150m in some places. In North America and Eurasia, ice sheet is far more ample space for spreading over land areas. The position and extend of the farmer ice sheet are known because the recognizable effect of thick ice spreading over the land have been observed in detailed and carefully mapped. Such effect include scouring and rupture of bedrock, and 2 deposition of non sorted rock particle to form broad layers of glacial drift spread over the surface. Direction of flow of the ice masses is consistently shown by a variety of linear features. Layers of glacial sediments and non glacial sediments in some places containing fossils are widespread on the land. 1.2 Glacier Movement As we know that the glaciers are move yearly .Those ice field which are not moved then we do not called it glaciers. It is called pure ice and its inactive and when the pressure of overlying debris are more on ice field then the movement is start and is called Glaciers. Ice behaves like an easily breaking solid until its thickness exceeds about 50 meters
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