Paper 1 Prompt: Select a physical process topic from a list. Briefly describe the process, how it works, and how it affects natural and human systems. (200 words, 1 map/graph/image minimum)
Process: Glaciers
Goal: Make the information interesting and digestible. Turn words into linked concepts, to create a flow of thought. Start with key concepts: (Answers to what is it, who cares, why, and whereit exists.)
- Snow, accumulate, compress, ice, heavy, compress, flow (creep), melt.
- Push, pluck, grind, erode, carve, U shape, melt deposits, terminal, lateral moraines
- Ampitheater bowls, cirque lakes, hanging valleys, braided streams (debris)
- Mountain, continental, ice shelves, calving, icebergs
- Features: Yosemite, Great Lakes, Cape Cod, loess, scraped Canadian Shield, soil deposits in U.S.
Re-shuffle, and turn into sentences:
Glaciers are formed at high elevations and in cold climates when snow accumulates over years, and its own weight compresses earlier snow into ice. Over time, further compression causes it to ooze downhill. During this creeping flow, the glacier pushes material downhill, plucking rocks from the surface it grinds over. The grinding leaves striated rock, U shaped valleys, bowl like ampitheaters and rounded cirque lakes along its path, as found in Yosemite. (Figure 1)
Continental glaciers left larger patterns, grinding out the Great Lakes, and leaving great deposits of soil and rock (moraines) at its edges, such as Cape Cod and the hills of Southern Wisconsin. (Figure 2, labeled US map) Wind-blown deposits of these soils (loess) form nutrient rich soils in the Midwest which were scraped from the Canadian Shield (Figure 2 labels)
Major issues: Is this too long or too short?(Word Count: 133 words) Is it interesting? (Maybe not…)
Now, this is ready for a final polish. I would re-shape information for my audience, producing a final product that is more suited to my audience. I would re-work or add adverbs, prepositional phrases, etc. to make the text sound better.
Glaciers are formed at high elevations and in cold climates when snow accumulates over years, and its own weight compresses earlier snow into ice. Further compression causes some snow fields to ooze downhill, forming glaciers. During this creeping flow, the glacier pushes material downhill, freezes to the rock, plucking chunks from the surface and grinding it against the rock, leaving striations on rock faces, and depositing ground rocks in large mounds (moraines) when it melts at the base. Over centuries, glaciers form U shaped valleys (Yosemite, Figure 1) and bowl shaped amphitheaters, often with beautiful rounded cirque lakes along its path. (Yosemite, Figure 2)
Continental glaciers left larger patterns, grinding out the Great Lakes, and leaving massive and rock deposits (moraines) at its edges, including Cape Cod and the hills of Southern Wisconsin. (Figure 2, labeled US map) Wind-blown deposits of these soils (loess) form nutrient rich soils in the Midwest which were scraped from the Canadian Shield (Figure 2 labels)
Now, it is time to shape the paragraphs, form a topic, and add a conclusion. Paragraph 1 has too many pieces of information, and there is no single topic in it. I have grinding and deposition together, and these could also be separated into distinct packets of thought, or paragraphs
Glaciers are formed at high elevations and in cold climates when snow accumulates over years, and its own weight compresses earlier snow into ice. Further compression causes some snow fields to ooze downhill, forming glaciers. These glaciers shape their environments, carving into the rock as they move, and depositing it at their bases as they melt.
During this creeping flow, the glacier pushes material downhill, freezes to the rock, plucking chunks from the surface and grinding it against the rock, leaving striations on rock face. Over centuries, glaciers form U shaped valleys (Yosemite, Figure 1) and bowl shaped amphitheaters, often with beautiful rounded cirque lakes along its path. (Yosemite, Figure 2)
At lower elevations, glaciers melt, depositing ground rocks in large mounds or terminal moraines at their base. When glaciers meet, rocks from their sides are carried together, and these form lateral moraines when they melt. Some glaciers reach the sea and form ice shelves over water, where their own weight causes stresses which calve icebergs.
Continental glaciers left larger patterns, grinding out the Great Lakes, and leaving massive and rock deposits (moraines) at its edges, including Cape Cod and the hills of Southern Wisconsin. (Figure 3, labeled US map) Wind-blown deposits of these soils (loess) form nutrient rich soils in the Midwest which were scraped from the Canadian Shield (Figure 3 labels). Glaciers leave special features on the earth, which remain well after they melt away. (There are 237 words. Shrink it.)
Glaciers:
Worldwide, in cold climatessnow accumulates over years, and its own weight compresses snow into ice. Further compression of snow fields causes downhill motion, forming glaciers. Glaciers carve and moveunderlying material. These changes remain for us to ponder today.
As they flow, glacial ice freezes to rock.They then pluck chunks from the surface and grindthem against the rock. Over centuries, glaciers scoop out rounded amphitheaters, U shaped valleys, and lakes. (Figure 1)
Downhill, glaciers melt, depositing ground rocks in large mounds (terminal moraines). When glaciers meet, rocks from their sides are carried together. These form lateral moraines when they melt. Some glaciers reach the sea and form ice shelves, where fracturingcausesicebergs.
Continental glaciers leave larger patterns, grinding out the Great Lakes, and depositingrock and soil (moraines) at its edges, including Cape Cod and the hills of Southern Wisconsin (Figure 3). Many nutrient rich Midwest soils were scraped from the Canadian Shield and scattered by the wind (Figure 3).
Glaciers leave special features on the earth. Mountain glaciers carve out U shaped valleys, while continental glaciers scrape and modify continents. Their deposits also form unique shapes which enrich farm soils.(196 words)
Now, add images.
I wrote common information from memory. However, I have no image to computer recall. So, I go to the web. The first source in a basic query is usually Wikipedia. Go on to better sources. The second is the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), a good reference source with academic cachet.
The first thing to take is citation information. NSIDC has provided all the information you need except for the web page. (Grab that too.)
NSIDC/WDC for Glaciology, Boulder, compiler. 2002, updated 2009. Glacier Photograph Collection. Boulder, ColoradoUSA: National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data Center for Glaciology. Digital media.
NSIDC photography base URL:
Metadata File for palisade1949091401
Photo ID: palisade1949091401
Glacier Name: Palisade Glacier
Province: CA
Country: USA
Latitude: 37.10000
Longitude: -118.50940
Photo Date: 1949-09-14
Image Dimensions(pixels): 4032px x 5691px
Image Type: TIFF
Image Filesize: 68842438 bytes
Documentation:
Photographer Name: Harrison, Arthur Elliot
Source: American Geographical Society/World Data Center-A for Glaciology
Publisher: National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder
Rights: Photograph held by the National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder. May be used freely if properly cited.
Citation: Harrison, Arthur Elliot.1949. Palisade Glacier: From the Glacier Photograph Collection. Boulder, ColoradoUSA: National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data Center for Glaciology. Digital media.