Erosional Effects
Because ice can flow faster where it is thicker, the rate of glacier-induced erosion is directly proportional to the thickness of overlying ice. Consequently pre-glacial low hollows will be deepened and pre-existing topography will be amplified by glacial action, while nunataks, which protrude above ice sheets, barely erode at all – erosion has been estimated as 5 m per 1.2 million years. This explains, for example, the deep profile of fjords, which can reach a kilometer in depth as ice is topographically steered into them. Being the principal conduits for draining ice sheets, fjords' extension inland increases the rate of ice sheet thinning. It also makes the ice sheets more sensitive to changes in climate and the ocean.
Read more about this topic: Ice Sheet Dynamics
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