Learner Resource 4 – Exploring Greenland
Use Google Earth to identify some of the glacial features of Greenland. To explore the ones already identified for you, type the latitude / longitude reference into the search box. Investigate the features fully by describing what they look like or sketching them, and measuring the area / length to understand their scale.
Feature / Latitude / Longitude references and elevation (take at approximate centre of feature) / Description (or sketch) of feature / Size / Length(use the measurement tools and say what you measured) /
Ice sheet / 71º42’N 42º37’ W, elevation 2897m / The Greenland ice sheet is a vast body of ice covering 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is second in size only to the Antarctic ice sheet. / 1.71 million km2 (total area of ice sheet)
Ice cap
Outlet glacier / 72°1’N 51°44'W
Piedmont glacier
Version 1 3 © OCR 2016
Glaciated landscapes
Feature / Latitude / Longitude references and elevation (take at approximate centre of feature) / Description (or sketch) of feature / Size / Length(use the measurement tools and say what you measured) /
Cirque / cirque glacier
Arête / a steep-knife edged ridge of rock separating two cirques
Crevassing
Iceberg calving
Medial moraine / 71º55’28’’N 52º6’28’’W / Where a tributary glacier joins another glacier, the lateral moraines merge and flow down the middle of the new, enlarged glacier.
Glacial trough
Braided meltwater channels
Extension:
In addition to the features above, can you find:
· any evidence of glacial retreat? (Tip! You could use the historical imagery function but bear in mind that the images are taken at different times of the year and the data does not go back very far - perhaps landscape clues are more useful?)
· any evidence of human activity?
· any other glacial features?
Version 1 3 © OCR 2016
Glaciated landscapes