Human Uses of Glaciers

After looking at hazards which occur from glaciers, I thought it also might be useful to look at how we put glaciers to our advantage, i.e. how humans use glaciers. By looking at this, it also brings a human geography element to a very physical geography topic, something which should be shown in the classroom instead of separating the two aspects completely. There are seven main ways that humans use glaciers (or their landscapes), these are:

•  Tourism
• Energy Production 
• Water Supply 
• Quarrying 
•  Agriculture 
•  Transport/Communication 
•  Settlement

The table below shows how the glacier (or its landscape) is used for each specific practise.

Human Use	How the glacier is used
Tourism	-         The beauty of a glacier/glacial landforms attracts walkers, climbers, photographers, botanists, sailing and so on. -          This tourism brings money into the local economy with tourists using facilities such as restaurants, hotels, pubs, shops and so on. -          An example of an area benefiting from tourism is pen-y-pass (in the heart of Snowdonia) which has a café, youth centre and park-and-ride scheme for tourists. -    Too much tourism however can have a negative affect on the environment such as footpath erosion, littering, seasonal employment and businesses aimed towards tourism rather than locals.
Energy Production	-          Glacial lakes are useful for energy production due to containing large amounts of water which can be used in HEP (hydro-electric power) stations. -          An example of this is Llyn Peris in the Snowdonia region which (as stated in my first post) provides water for the local HEP station to create electricity in periods of peak demand.
Water Supply	-          Much of the water not used in HEP stations continues down the valley where it can be further used for a water supply. -          If the valleys are dammed then water can also be sent to towns and cities which receive less water than glaciated areas as well as providing tourist opportunities such as sailing (although damming can cause problems such as flooding valleys and altering water courses). -          Some water may also be used to irrigate local crops. -      Sometimes glaciers provide water in other ways, such as feeding water to other rivers, such as the Rhine. -          An example of using glaciers for water supply can be seen in N. Wales with Llyn Peris not only providing water for the local HEP station, but also providing a water supply to the local town of Llanberis.
Quarrying	-          The truncating of spurs (in for example the Lake District) has created steep crags, therefore exposing rock which can be quarried. -          This is often highly important to the local economy.
Agriculture	-          In upland areas the main type of agriculture is often sheep farming due to the land being bare due to glaciation and the climate being cold. -          This type of agriculture becomes an important part of the local economy i.e. in Snowdonia. -          In winter the valley floors are used for grazing. -    Fertile lowlands are good for arable farming but intensive farming can ruin the environment by using fertilizers, pesticides and weed killers. -          Coniferous forests are often planted in highland areas due to being able to cope in cooler climates and help prevent soil erosion. -          Timber production is also a valuable aspect of the local economy. -     Coniferous forests do however destroy habits (even though they also provide new ones for different animals) and can push sheep farming into decline.
Transport/Communication	-          Diffluence of glacial ice may provide an easier route across a ridge, such as for railways in Highland areas of Scotland.
Settlement	-          Some areas of glacial sediment are used for settlements to raise them above the valley floor in areas prone to flooding such as in the Vale of Pickering, N. Yorkshire where villages are built on kames (these shall be explained in a later post). -    Sadly settlements can however bring issues such as pollution and water/power consumption. -          Nevertheless, glaciated areas (and glacial landscapes) tend to be sparsely populated.

A short but rather fun video about human activity in glaciated areas can be found in the link below. This could easily be shown to a class instead of the table above, with the two questions at the end of the video being useful for a quick test to see how many were listening. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/glaciation/glacierlandscapeshuman_video.shtml