When we imagine and picture glaciers, a pyramidal icy mountain might come to mind. Glaciers are found in frigid parts of the world like Antarctica and Greenland. They are persistent large bodies of snow and ice, covering an area of land.
Glaciers are created when the fallen snow doesn't all melt, not even in the summer. During winter, more snow falls on top. As more snow is collected, there's a significant increase in weight and pressure, pushing on the snow below which causes it to turn into ice. Over many years, often centuries, a glacier is formed.
Similar to many other landforms, glaciers are not static. Due to the accumulated snow and ice, its weight causes the glacier to move and flow like a slow river. This process may create features like seracs. The moving glaciers also erode rock and other materials from the land's surface, leaving behind rubble called moraine.
Glaciers are classified based on their morphology. For example, alpine glaciers are usually found on the slopes of mountains. Continental glaciers cover areas larger than 50,000km2 and can be several kilometres deep. There aren't many glaciers of this type; the only extant ones can be found in Antarctica and Greenland.
Most of Earth's glacial ice can be located in the polar regions. Glaciers hold a lot of water in them. In fact, they hold over 75% of Earth's freshwater. In some climates, such as temperate and alpine, water is stored as ice in glaciers. When the weather warms up, the ice melts and is utilised as a water source by local wildlife, plants, and people.
Areas with glaciers, especially in the cold winter months may seem desolate. It could be difficult to see the area harbouring any signs of life. However, it is during this time when the ice is the thickest that Inuit groups make the treacherous trip across the expansive icy land and go under it to collect mussels.
The perfect time for this trip is when the moon creates abnormally low tides. This leads to the water level decreasing in many areas under the ice. Some places could see the water level lowered by 55 feet! The tide can cause some regions to be water-free for about an hour.
Once the Inuits identify the void under the ice, they will start to create a hole in the ice. Inside the void is a different world. The sunlight enters and is filtered through the surrounding frozen walls, producing a blue glow. It is here, on the bay floor that the Inuits will find what they are looking for, fat blue mussels. These mussels usually cling to rocks and can be gathered without additional tools.
While it may appear to be a simple way of gathering a lot of mussels, this is a dangerous excursion. The Inuits have to be infallible, one little mistake could be fatal. The tide will return and once again fill the voids with water. The returning tide is misleading, as it can start to flow in slowly and rise up to 30cm in just a minute. It's important to depart and climb out of the ice before the void is filled.
Colder winters produce sturdier and more stable ice. However, with temperatures rising it means the ice is getting less thick and even less predictable. Some ice may only be frozen partway and not all the way through. These trips are getting more dangerous.
The mussels were once an important food source for the Inuits. The mussels contain a lot of vitamins, which were essential to the Inuit's survival for centuries during the harsh winter months. During these months, it was hard to obtain nutrition from fruits and vegetables since they were hard to come by.
This tasty treat from the water doesn't require much preparation. The Inuits would typically rinse the mussels before shucking them. Then the meat would be taken out with the saltwater squeezed out of them. The next step is to gobble up the mussels raw.
Today, glaciers are melting and disappearing at an unprecedented rate. The melted ice and water enter our oceans, causing sea levels to rise. This could initiate flooding across all coastal cities around the world.