Glaciers and the UK

Glaciers and the UK

Influence of UK Climate on Landscapes

• 20,000 years ago, the cooling climate in the UK brought more precipitation as snow.
• This built up over many years, particularly in Scotland.
• Most of the UK became covered in ice up to 1km thick.
• The seasonality of the modern UK climate brings snow to areas such as Snowdonia.
• The temperature and precipitation in the UK today cause freeze-thaw weathering to take place in areas that were once glaciated.

Ice Cover in the Last Ice Age

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• Today there is no ice cover in the UK.
• Ice cover in the last Ice Age was part of the Arctic Ice Sheet.
• Ice moved from the highlands in Scotland into the lowlands.
• This ice began to melt when the Earth began to warm 10,000 years ago.

Processes in UK landscapes today

• Mechanical weathering - freeze-thaw action
• Mass movement - soil creep and slumping
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