Natural - Iceland
These images comprise all 8 regions of Iceland, from the Southern region, circling counter-clockwise around the mainly basaltic igneous rock island, to the Southern Peninsula region, then up among the F-roads into the Highlands areas - an education excursion totaling 3,250 mi. (5,230 km) of driving, and around 200 mi. (320 km) of hiking upon this island of "Ice and Fire" which measures about 300 mi. (480 km) E-W and 200 mi. (320 km) N-S. Through the two ecoregions of Iceland, the Boreal Birch Forests and Alpine Tundra (Taiga), during the summer season.
Glaciers form when more snow accumulates over the year than melts during the summer, as layers of snow accumulate, the buried snow granules become more and more tightly packed and are converted to "firn" (10-30% air), which subsequently metamorphoses to "glacial ice" as the firn recrystallizes (minimal air - less than 10%) - this process takes place in the accumulation zone at high altitudes, the thick mass of ice deforms under its own weight and flows downstream via gravitational pull, and a glacier has originated - this ice flows downhill towards the ablation zone where temperatures are greater and the melting of snow and ice, exceeds accumulation of snow over the year - the oldest ice and the largest ice crystals of the ice cap are found at the snouts of the outlet glaciers, and the névé is found in the upper portions of most glaciers - Névé is a young, granular type of snow which has been partially melted, refrozen and compacted, yet precedes the form of ice - névé that survives a full season of ablation (reduction) turns into "firn" after about 2 years, forming larger crystals - thus it is the metamorphism of snowflakes, and after many millennium that forms glaciers, ice caps and the massive ice sheets - this image of the terninus snout of a calving glacier, known as the Fjallsjökull, also an outlet glacier flowing from the Vatnajokull (ice cap), here into the Fjallssárlón (Mountain Lagoon).
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