Monday, March 15, 2010

Pingos and more





Our third excursion was much shorter, but very beautiful. We stopped to look at a pingo, a 'lump' of sediment and ice formed from water fountaining out of the glacier surface, which once climbed gave a good view over the surrounding scenery. We then continued to another glacier, to look at 'icings': areas of ice in front of the glacier formed by outflow of englacial water from the glacier during the winter. We drove up into the accumulation zone to have a look at an experiment being conducted up there, before heading home.

The drive home was stunning. It was the first time we had really seen the sun, and we drove straight into it for a good proportion of the drive. With it low in the sky, beautiful shadows were formed against an otherwise almost entirely white backdrop of snow, glaciers, valleys and peaks. Unfortunately the lack of stops, the cold, and the fast driving speed allowed no photos of this. It is not something I will forget for a while though.

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