| A computer simulation of glacial erosion in Sierra Nevada, Spain. In the simulation the snow line altitude is lowered to 2000 m and glaciers appear. With time, the glaciers erode the landscape and a negative feedback between the topographic evolution and mass balance causes the glaciers to retreat. The glacially eroded landscape contains classical glacial landforms, such as over-deepened U-shaped valleys, hanging valleys and cirques. The glaciers also form low relief landscapes at elevations corresponding to the snow line altitude. These low relief landscapes are associated with "the glacial buzzsaw" which, in turn, limits the height of mountain ranges globally. Visit Nature.com (doi:10.1038/nature08263, www.nature.com ) for more information. David L. Egholm, Aarhus University |
