28 June 2016 Boots on Ice!

Journal

A Visit to the GlacierA mass of ice that persists for many years and notably deforms and flows under the influence of gravity.

We knocked off work early the other day because it was too windy to hand-pollinate flowers. Instead we went to 660, the end of the Kangerlussuaq Road. There we hiked through the newest moraines (the piles of sand, gravel, and rocks that the glacier has pushed up). Then suddenly, we were walking on ice! As you can see, it is very dark and sandy near the moraines because wind blows the sand back onto the ice. In the picture of me there is also a stream of meltwater flowing right behind me, so there is a stream of liquid water on top of the solid water!

Boots on Ice! — I am standing on the glacier!

The ice is also grainy or chunky as you can see in the next picture. My toe is pointing toward a crack in the ice with a little tiny stream of melt water running by.

Boot Pointing at Ice — My boot is pointing toward a small rivulet of ice water

Here you can see water running underneath the ice.

Water Running Under the Ice — Water can be seen running under the glacier.

That's Christine walking into this vast icy landscape. In the distance you can see that the further out on the ice you go, the whiter the ice is because the sandy moraines are farther away. Some of the people who work out on the glacier say they put on sunscreen almost every hour because it reflects so much sunlight back; that is, it has high albedo.