Far north within the Arctic Circle off the northern coast of
Norway lies a small chain of islands known as Svalbard. These
craggy islands have been scoured into shape by ice and sea. The
effect of glacial activity can be seen in this image of the
northern tip of the island of Spitsbergen. Here, glaciers have
carved out a fjord, a U-shaped valley that has been flooded with
sea water. Called Bockfjorden, the fjord is located at almost 80
degrees north, and it is still being affected by glaciers. The
effect is most obvious in this image in the tan layer of silty
freshwater that floats atop the denser blue water of the Arctic
Ocean. The fresh water melts off land-bound glaciers and flows
over the sandstone, collecting fine red-toned silt. In this
image, the tan-colored fresh water flows northward up the fjord
and is being pushed to the east side of the fjord by the
rotation of the Earth. Glaciers here and elsewhere on
Spitsbergen are cold bottom glaciers, which means that they are
frozen to the ground rather than