Tasman glacier

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RWood
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Tasman glacier

Unread post by RWood »

Manukau heads obs
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Re: Tasman glacier

Unread post by Manukau heads obs »

interesting they say that it will not matter now if lots of snow falls at the origin...the lake has caused a no going back tipping point...
but, then , though, during the next ice age...how does it advance again? (just simply due to the fact that the average air temperature drops, which causes the lake temperature to drop, and slow down the melting, which will help extra snow at the orgin gain back ? )
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melja
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Re: Tasman glacier

Unread post by melja »

And did this very glacier also have a lake with in the last 100 years? i think it did.
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Re: Tasman glacier

Unread post by southernthrash »

When the glacier does advance again, the presence of the lake allows advance to occur more quickly than otherwise.
Manukau heads obs
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Re: Tasman glacier

Unread post by Manukau heads obs »

how does that work?
(just interested)
(when the presence of the lake is causing it to retreat quickly )
(obvioulsy this has all happened before)
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southernthrash
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Re: Tasman glacier

Unread post by southernthrash »

The lake beds of proglacial lakes are more easily deformed than valley floors (due to their sedimentary make up) and the water acts as a lubricant, so when a glacier gains forward momentum into water it tends to accelerate rapidly. It takes a large glacial mass to breach the moraine on the distal lake shore, however.
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