What changes do glaciers cause to earth's surface?

Answer 1

Glaciers are a major cause of erosion and deposition. They can strip away soil and even solid rock, carving out valleys. They leave deposits of till, unsorted glacier deposits. Other sediment deposits form in rivers and lakes formed by glacial meltwater. Some glaciers leave behind lakes long after they have melted away.

Answer 2

Glaciers change the surface of the land in several ways. By pushing rocks and gravel along with its encroachment a glacier leaves that material behind when it retreats. Most glaciers have water melting out of them when it gets above freezing. That water erodes the landscape forming streams and rivers.

A glacier deposits silt on the ground where it moves. Sometimes, if glaciers have rocks frozen inside of them and they go across a certain space, when the glaciers slowly move to a different space the place they were before will be rocky. As glaciers move across the earth's surface, small rocks and sand get caught under the mass of ice and act as sandpaper on the land, slowly scraping away and eroding the land.

Also, as a glacier moves across the land under it's own weight this causes rocks to push up to causes little mounds the more this happens the little ditch that was created gets deeper and it gets wider that also why there are inland lakes. Glaciers transport material as they move and they also sculpt and carve away the land beneath them.

Answer 3

The area around the former glacier will be warmer; bare rock absorbs the sun's heat while the snow and ice reflect it. On a large scale, this could translate into higher global temperatures. Melting glaciers on a large scale contribute to rising sea levels as more water is dumped into oceans. The absence of glacial ice will also cause massive problems for people who get their water from mountain river systems as their main source of water dries up.