MIT: Tiny Sand Grains Trigger Massive Glacial Surges
June 13, 2020
June 13, 2020
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, June 13 -- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology issued the following news:
About 10 percent of the Earth's land mass is covered in glaciers, most of which slip slowly across the land over years, carving fjords and trailing rivers in their wake. But about 1 percent of glaciers can suddenly surge, spilling over the land at 10 to 100 times their normal speed.
When this happens, a glacial surge can set off avalanches, flood rivers and lakes, . . .
About 10 percent of the Earth's land mass is covered in glaciers, most of which slip slowly across the land over years, carving fjords and trailing rivers in their wake. But about 1 percent of glaciers can suddenly surge, spilling over the land at 10 to 100 times their normal speed.
When this happens, a glacial surge can set off avalanches, flood rivers and lakes, . . .