The Formation and Shape of Drumlins and their Distribution and Orientation in Drumlin Fields

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Smalley, Ian J., Unwin, David J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1968
• Subjects: Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000020591; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000020591

Abstract If glacial till contains more than a certain minimum boulder content, it is dilatant and requires a much larger stress to initiate shear deformation than to sustain it. If the stress level at the glacier–terrain interface drops below a certain critical level, or the till reaches its critical boulder-content density, then the till beneath the glacier packs into stable obstructions. These are shaped into streamlined forms by the glacier and are found distributed at random in drumlin fields. Due to drumlin coalescence there is a normal distribution of drumlin axes about the direction of ice movement.