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General Map of the Terminal Moraine of the Second Epoch
Huh?..... terminal what? In all accounts a Moraine is an accumulation of debris that has been currently or formerly moved or carried by a glacier or ice sheet. The end or terminus of the moraine would represent the edge of the glacier at its maximum advance for that particular event or Epoch. There are a number of different types of moraines. A lateral Moraine forms on the sides of the glacier and Recess Moraines are found behind the Terminal Moraine Limit which are formed during short lived phases of glacial advance within the overall Ice Age or that particular glacier retreat for example. Glaciers are one of the greatest excavators of the Earth , moving till thousands of miles, carving lakes, streams and rivers, and creating islands and peninsulas all over the world. A geologically historic map of the past, seemingly innocuous, but it actually reveals more about our future as well as the Earths. Scientists are able to negotiate the rate of deglaciation through the measuring from the edge of a glacier to the end moraine. This technique along with drilling ice cores allows knowledge of some of the melt factors of glaciers and ice sheets affecting sea levels. It is suggested that at current acceleration rates the world's oceans could be 10 feet higher in a hundred years which would divest some 28,000 square miles of the continental United States alone back to the oceans. There are currently about 36 people per square mile on the face of the Earth rivaling the Dinosaurs with a 1.1% per annum growth rate. If one did some quick math that would correlate into the population doubling in the next hundred years without compound. These ramifications are not just a housing problem but globally systemic with respect to war, climate, food, disease, crime, unrest, etc, etc. It would be sad if humanity didn't reach its pinnacle. There are still millions who have to trek to a well every day to draw water a mile away for sustenance amongst other things and yet I am dismayed by many figures in the U.S who hold high positions or make tens of millions a year self narrating they have been mistreated. This dichotomy is one of many of the reasons why I am writing this article....reelection, protectionism and ratings although held priority in the current are superficial in the end. That's the beauty of history. It's not self centric and should be learned from and not necessarily dwelled upon.
On the flip side, there were four other major ice ages that scientists know of before the one we are in. Of coarse one's definition of Ice Age can vary. One could say when all of the ice is gone it would be the end of the Ice Age invariably eclipsing ideology or philanthropy for which might provide otherwise. Humans have accelerated this process through combustion for which we all depend on whether it be the first humans to use fire to stay alive or to the hundreds of millions of cars on the road, to the nuclear plants, to the power generated to charge your cell phone or your Tesla. Every avenue of our lives revolves around combustion which creates heat and carbons. You can pass any environmental act you want to slow the process but it is coming in the event one doesn't think it is here. I know I won't be around to see the ultimate result but hopefully acknowledgement, intellect and faith within the human race will prevail.
A map of a portion of the Terminal Moraine of the Second Glacial Epoch
This map was produced by Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (1843-1928) as part of the United Sates Geological Survey of 1882. Chamberlin, a pioneer in glacial geology as well as the first director of the U.S. Geological Survey's Pleistocene Division, was one of the first to correlate global warming with Carbon Dioxide as well as being the first to prove there were multiple Pleistocene glaciations in North America. Chamberlin also championed the idea of vertical tectonics which he proposed created mountains, controlled global sea levels and erosion of continents which is in conflict with today's
knowledge of continental drift although the latter wasn't scientifically accepted until 1915. It was initially proposed by Abraham Ortelius in 1596.
Water.... It is seemingly the most elemental part of an ice age for which this map is conceived. But wait, there are 23 moons and planets just in our solar system alone that have water. There's something those 23 bodies have in common with each other but not with planet Earth. Earth is the only one that has a living geology predicated by tectonic plates and continental drift. It is a constant builder and diminisher of mountains, purveyor of lakes streams and oceans, a major contributor to weather, not to mention it directs major outlays of carbon to the farthest depths of ocean floors. It is this incredibly unique allocation that allowed the inception of life and nursed all forms up to this point as we know it and will continue to do so, long after us. or at least until the sun turns in to a Red Giant, evaporating all of the water from the face of the Earth after all life has seized to exist. No Worries, that is conservatively a few billion years away. Lastly, this earthly device of living geology plays heavy participation in ice ages.
The map notes and outlines drift bearing areas, striae, moraines and glacial movements. It also shows the Great lakes, Georges Bay, the North Channel and Green Bay. This single watershed is the largest in the world containing 20% of the globes surface fresh water and 84% of North America's. One could ask where all of this water came from. The initial answer would probably be glacial runoff, rain and the existing massive watershed. But, I mean how did water end up on Earth? Consensus and science dictates that around 3.8 Billion years ago the young Earth was rained down upon by asteroids and comets containing ice and water like a blizzard that lasted at least twenty million years and probably covered the globe in its entirety. Currently, 71% of the planet is covered by water but it only accounts for .02% of its mass.
Of coarse, there are a number of unseen qualifiers within this map. We can see the glacier moraine limits and drift before the current deglaciation but we can only assume what the future holds for the Arctic based on current projections. Scientists have been coring what is now accessible tundra looking for bacterium and viruses frozen in time before humans that could be rekindled after a couple million years and that are not known of in the present. Another challenge is that the permafrost that is no longer permanent and is in some estimations holds some 50% of the Earths Green house gases and covers 15% of the Northern Hemisphere. Certainly a game changer if the melting pattern continues.
These early geological maps are some of the rarest on the market if you can find them.
This 1891 illustration is of the Great Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland with Marjelen Lake in the foreground. Marjelen Lake or what is now Marjelensee Lake was formed by natural periglacial run-off earlier in the century. The Aletsch is the largest glacier in the Alps and located in the Bernese Alps. It is comprised of four smaller glaciers and is approximately 3,300 feet at its thickest. The run-off directs towards the Rhone Valley and ultimately feeds the Massa River and the Strausee Gibidium Reservoir.
The current day photograph of the glacier reveals the yesteryears by virtue of the discoloration from the scarring and bleaching at the base of the mountain. One could venture a guess that the glacier was a few hundred feet thick from this viewpoint.