Glaciers or floating ice?

Two hypotheses collided on the plains of Europe. The first one, which descended from the Alpine Mountains, asserted the dominance of glaciers. The second, which invaded from the northern seas, preferred floating ice. Each of them could easily handle boulders, no matter how huge they were. To find out which one is more truthful, they had to face off on other geological sites. In 1821, the Swiss engineer Venetz read a report to the Society of Natural Scientists. He told about his observations made in the Alps. Exploring the glaciers descending into the valleys, he drew attention to the piles of sand and boulders that the glacial tongues piled up in front of them. When the glaciers began to shrink in size under the influence of heat, the ridges piled up by them remained in the same place, marking their former boundary. Venetz discovered similar ridges located across valleys, far in the foothills, where modern glaciers do not come close. Consequently, once upon a time the Alpine glaciers were significantly superior to the current ones. Venetz's ideas were developed by his student Charpentier, followed by geologist and paleontologist Agassiz. The earthen ridges formed along the edge of the glacier were called, unlike the bottom moraine, movement moraines, or terminal moraines. "Every moraine," Agassiz argued, "is the imprint of a glacier's retreating heel. Wherever we come across one of the ancient semicircular mounds of extraordinary size, we can be sure that here heat and cold were arguing about dominance." However, the supporters of the cold seas were not satisfied with such explanations. They pointed to the long ramparts along the sea coasts. There is also plenty of sand and various debris. There are also high coastal ramparts in river valleys. What does glaciers have to do with it? Other facts were given in response. Back in 1787, Saussure discovered peculiar stone curlicues on the slopes of the Alps, similar to frozen waves. In the rays of the setting sun, they turned pink, shiny, like the curls of fashionable wigs (the dandies smeared their wigs with mutton fat for shine). The scientist was young.


Not wanting to invent a boring Latin term, he decided to call the curly rocks "sheep's foreheads." The fashion for wigs has passed. However, in the Alps and Scandinavia, many rocks still retain their ancient hairstyle. Who could be the "hairdresser" who did the centuries-old curling of the rocks? Of course, the glacier. It is not for nothing that "sheep's foreheads" are found in Alpine glacial valleys. Well, iceberg fans replied, glaciers really polish rocks high in the mountains. But at the foothills and in the lowlands, the surf waters do the same, weighted with rocks, silt and sand raised from the bottom. They destroy and grind the strongest cliffs. After all, the stone curlicues themselves resemble waves. Allow me, glacier enthusiasts objected, but what can explain the deep furrows and scratches on the rocks? In the American state of Ohio, trenches and furrows with a length of one and a half kilometers are described. Many furrows stretch down the slopes of the Alps and the Scandinavian mountains. The scratches are usually parallel and directed in a way that only a glacier could draw. However, this argument was not irresistible either. It is also known that along the banks of rivers, lakes and seas, rocks can scratch rocks brought by the surf or current. And if we take into account the effect of floating ice, then there will be no mystery at all. In spring, during congestion, ice floes invade the shores, cutting down trees and leaving shafts of pebbles, silt, and sand. Rocks, frozen rocks, sand the cliffs. Along the banks of rivers on the rocks you will often see troughs tens of meters long and up to ten centimeters deep. The disputes have been going on for many years, and there is no end in sight. Of course, the debaters rarely met and sorted things out face to face. The discussion was conducted most often in absentia. Some scientists did not even think about it. They simply reported, verbally or in writing, the results of their observations. Observing the same area, describing the same geological formations, scientists expressed different opinions about their origin. gerçekten hoşuma gitti başarıbet Çünkü burada gerçek parayla oynayabilirsiniz.

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