Ice-marginal Environments

Shown above is a photo taken at the margin of the Knik Glacier in Alaska. Debris is melting out on top of glacier ice, and streams and lakes are also present on top of the glacier. When the glacier ice melts, this supraglacial debris will be redeposited by gravity flow and meltwater to form a chaotic mixture of ice-marginal sediments. Photo by A. Hansel.