News in Brief Earth

Glaciers carve path for future buildup

Previously sculpted landscapes accumulate ice more quickly than steep valleys

By Erin Wayman

- More than 2 years ago

By carving wide valleys into mountain landscapes, glaciers prime a region for even more extensive glaciations in the future, researchers report in the Jan. 10 Nature.

NATURE’S CARVER Glaciers such as Switzerland’s Aletsch Glacier (shown) pave the way for more extensive glaciations in the future by eroding wide, flat valleys into mountain landscapes.