Snow is here already

True Maksim,
Only 10,000 years ago the edge of the ice sheet stretched from South Wales to East Anglia & was 2 miles thick in places.

The land is still rising from having the weight of the ice removed, in fact its pivoting, the north and west is rising but the south is sinking. At low tide you can see field boundaries between the Isle of Wight & the mainland and in North Devon, the sea that lapped at the foot of Dunster Castle 800 years ago is now land.



Taken from the top of Dunster Castle, notice the flat fields that used to be sea.

 

I would not fancy all these kind of "soil-motion" due to the withdraw of ice...
There is always something to learn...

 

By the way, talking about snow and ice,
these days at my home (and in the whole Italy) are being "ice days".
Yesterday in Milan Malpensa Airport (just some 10 miles away from my home) the temperature stays all the day long below freezing point (with high temperature at minus 2 celsius degrees).

This morning has been even colder than yesterday morning.
At the bar, for the breakfast, the cold weather was the everyone's subject in their talks:
"Hi mate ! Very cold morning today. Isn't it ?"

Here the METAR (METereological Aerodrome Report) for Milan Malpensa International Airport
(Elevation: 768ft/234m AMSL - Above Mean Sea Level) at 06:20 (Local Time).

LIMC 160520Z 00000KT CAVOK M11/M11 Q1014 NOSIG RMK VIS MIN 9999=

Glossary:
LIMC = Milan Malpensa Intl Airport ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) code.
16 = December 16th
0520z = 05:20 "zulu time". ZULU TIME = UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) time = GMT
(Greenwich Mean Time).Thence, 06:20 Local time at Milan Malpensa.
00000KT = 000 degrees as wind direction, 00 knots (nautical miles per hour) as wind speed.
CAVOK = "Ceiling and Visibility OK"
M11 = Air Temperature at Minus 11 Celsius degrees.
/M11 = Dewpoint at Minus 11 Celsius degrees.(Since it is equel to the air temperature,
there are the Relative humidity conditons (100% Relative humidity) - Equilibrium Vapor
pressure - for dew on the field. In this case, frost as the temperature is below freezing
point).
Q1014 = Air Pressure AT SEA LEVEL, at 1,014 hPa.
NOSIG = "No significant change is expected to the reported conditions within the next 2
hours."
RMK = "Remarks" (additional informations)
VIS MIN 9999 = Visibility Minimum over 10Km (over 6 miles).

That's all there is to ti.
Soon I will attach some photos of today's cold morning.

Bye and have a nice cold winter to everyone ! :wink:

 

Looks like you already have them Maksim, according to this website,

http://sp.lyellcollection.org/cgi/content/abstract/332/1/115

 

I already knew that our Alps ("our ones", France's ones, Switzerland's ones, Austria's ones, Germany's ones , Slovenija's ones and Croatia's ones to say it correctly...) are just the result of the collision between Africa and Eurasia. Exactly in the same way as Hymalaya is the result of the collision between the indian sub-continent and Eurasia.
Actually, Italy was a "tail piece" belonging to the African continent.
When this "tail piece" crashed against Eurasia, then the Alps rose up.
The Alps are lower than Hymalaya because Italy is "slightly smaller" than India... :D.
So, on a "geological" basis, Italy is not Europe. Italy is Africa...
In the Italian Alps there is a "east-west layout" valley called "Valtellina".
Well, Valtellina is one of the "scars" that proves the collision between the African continent against the Eurasian continent.
All the lands that stays south of Valtellina are made of "african" rocks as they, on a geological basis, belongs to the ancient African continent.
On the other hands, all the lands that stay north of Valtellina are made of "eurasian" rocks (for the same reason).
Talking about Britain, I'm working out to understand the dynamic of the soil-vertical-motion.
I cannot understand why south-east England is going down while west and north Britain are going up... :cnfs:
I am trying to understand why it seems that South-East England IS THE PIVOT . :cnfs:

Bye !

 

Hi Maksim,

I think its because the ice sheet stopped coming south at london, so all the weight (upto 2 miles thick of ice) depressed the northern part making it sink into the crust.

Now the weight has gone the northern part is pushing back up, but being welded to the southern part, its making that bit sink.

Its not that simple, there are lots of other factors affecting it, density of rocks, faults & folds etc.

 

As I promised, here some photos taken yestarday at my home.
Just to show what a temperature at -11 C is all about (temperature recorded yesterday early in the morning at Milan Malpensa Airport, as it reads in the METEREOLOGICAL AERODROME REPORT - METAR - that I posted yesterday).

This one, to start with:




Then, these ones:



IT IS NOT SNOW. IT IS FROST.
















And Today, late in the morning, it has started to snow.
It is a dry, dusty snow as the temperature is cold enough ( -4 C ).








One shot to my friend the Rabbit (in my front yard)



...and one to my Christmas tree (because just a few days are before Christmas)



...and a close-up to the balls



So, we have all that we need: the snow that creates the right "atmosphere" :santa:, the Christmas tree :xmas1: and the Christmas balls of the Crhistmas tree...

The song "Last Christmas" of George Michael may start to play on ! :hehe:

:santa3: :myxm:

 

Your explanation, Ziggy, is self explaining.
Now I got it.
I did not know that the thick icecap stopped in the London region.
I thought that it stopped further south. Let's say, by the English Channel or even further south.
That's why I could not understand why East Anglia is the pivot.
Now I understand that certainly there was a single huge ice sheet that covered the whole Britain and soldered it to the european continental mainland.
But the point is, as far as I can understand, that this ice sheet was defenetely thinner starting from south-east Britain.
I think that I have understood.

Bye and thank you for the explanation.

 

Hey, great pictures of the frost Maksim, very Christmassy :thumb::xmas1:

Glad to explain, love geology & geography.

The ice sheet pushed the river Thames to its present course. Before that it flowed further north and was a tributary of the Rhine.

South of London we have the Chalk (Calcare) Hills. Chalk is permeable so only has rivers at the very bottom, where the ground is saturated, yet the hills have valleys that look like they were carved by streams flowing down them.

We call these dry valleys, formed during the ice age when the rock was frozen (permafrost) During the brief summers, the top few inches thawed allowing water to flow down hill & carve the valleys.

As soon as the ice went, the chalk became permeable again, leaving just the shape of the erosion.

 

Do you know what ?
I am just reading about the region that you describe, in these days.
Indeed, I am reading Sherlock Holmes: "The Valley of Fear".
It really talks about the "Chalk Hills" that you are describing.
Just look:
"The village of Birlstone is a small and very ancient cluster of half-timbered cottages on the northern border of the county of Sussex. For centuries it had remained unchanged; but within the last few years its picturesque appearance and situation have attracted a number of well-to-do residents. whose villas peep out of the great Weald forest, which thins away until it reaches the northern chalk downs. A number of small shops have come into being to meet the wants of the increased population; so there seems some prospect that Birlstone may soon grow from an ancient village into a modern town."

As I later discovered, the village of "Birlstone" is fictional.
I mean: as it were when it comes to read Sherlock Holmes, some places' names written in the book do not exist in the reality. They are invented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Unfortunately, I personally have not ever had the pleasure to visit these places.
I only was there when the plane I was flying in, landed at Gatwick Airport.
But it was on an october night of many years ago and everything was in the dark of the night.
Then I got the train to London Victoria Station.
I have seen in the daylight the region north of London, instead.
In this case due to "transfer reasons" as well.
Sometimes when I had to transfer from Stanstead Airport to London and - on last June - to transfer from Luton Airport to London.
I guess that - overall - it is all the same kind of hilly region: either be it south of London or be it north of London.
But I could not swear on it since I did not see the Surrey (or Sussex) in the daylight.
As far as geology is concern, I certainly would not say that north of London and south of London it is all the same picture.
That's because I really don't know...
By the way, I must think that probably every region among the regions surrounding London has its own microclimate.
Is that the case ???
I say that because, just a few minutes ago I look to the temperatures of the London Airports and I read four different values:
Heathrow -5 C, Gatwick -10 C, Luton -7 C and Stanstead -6 C.
Which of them is normally colder ? Is it Gatwick ???
For example, talking about Milan, I must say that Milan Malpensa Airport and Milan Linate (the city airport) have two different microclimates.
Malpensa is always colder than Linate.
Sometimes, Malpensa is even 5 degrees colder than Linate.
I live near Malpensa. My mum lives near Linate.
Sometimes when we talk by the phone, my mum asks me: "what's the weather like, by you ?"
And I reply: "it is snowing"
And my mum replies: "here it is raining, instead".
What's the picture as far as the microclimates of the regions surrounding London is concern ?

Bye !

 

I could entitle this post as it follows:
"THE DAY AFTER"
(after the yesterday snowfall)

Here the Metereological Aerodrome Report for MILAN MALPENSA at 04:20 AM (local time):

LIMC 180320Z VRB01KT 6000 NSC M14/M15 Q0996 NOSIG

"M14" (It means -14 C ! s00k )

Here, what it looks like such a severe cold (actually, at the moment of the shot, the temperature was "only" at -9 C ).







The snow is in the way I like it: very dry, very dusty, It "squeaks" when you step on it.
I just like it !
I really don't like it when the snow is wet and muddy, instead.
I would not call it "snow". I would rather call it "sh****" :D (Ops, sorry, pardon my rude language... )

 

Hi Maksim,

You are right, the chalk layer goes under london and comes out to form another range of hills called the chilterns. So london is in a basin & so is heathrow airport.The city is usually warmer than the countryside.

The chalk was buckled up into a series of folds called anticlines & synclines when Italy collided with europe, so its your fault :wink: This series extends under the channel to Paris, which has similar geology to London.

The syncline under London holds the water that fell as rain on the north downs & chilterns & when they first drilled into it the pressure was great enough to make the fountains in Trafalgar Square. Now the pressure has gone & the fountains are pumped.

http://www.southdownsonline.org/learning/rte.asp?id=8

Some chalk dowwn land for you to see there.

Have a look at JWK's thread here,

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/jwks-garden-destruction-t15760.html

John lives on one of the chalk hills, you can see how pure the chalk is, 98% calcium carbonate, thats better than your Dolomites hey ?:D

 

Great pics Maksim,

We've got the same type of snow, people are describing it as "Like polystyrene"

 

I could argue that it's Africa's fault :D
Indeed, it was Africa to push Italy to collide with Europe...

I would expect this series to extends even further south than Paris.
Indeed, why a "Discontinuity" between the Paris region and the Alps ?
I mean: what is it between Paris and the Alps as a result of the continental plates collision ?

Really nice landscapes. They are so tidy, neat and harmonious at the same time. They look like those hills that are in miniature railways' scale models. When I am on a plane (either approaching to or climbing from London) I use to look out the window to admire such a landscape from above. There is a sort of "poetry" in it, in its sweet-bent lines and winding roads...
I like it.

By the way, what is the origin of the calcium carbonate of your chalk hills ?
The calcium carbonate of DOLOMITEN (I say it in german since in that part of Italy they have german surnames and they speak German ) was formed by the sea shells that were on the bottom of the sea and, as a consequence of the collision between Italy and Europe, that "sea shell material" rose up to form the DOLOMITEN.

Bye !

 

Yeah, lets blame Africa.:D

The series probably does extend beyond Paris, I just don't know about all the geology of europe

Your Dolomiten were probably formed the same way as our chalk, in a shallow calcareous sea like the seas around bermuda today. The European plate was near the equator then.

The Dolomiten probably had magnesium rich water percolating through it after it was lifted up, replacing the calcium, magnesium carbonate instead of calcium carbonate.

Do you burn your Dolomiten to make Malta di calce/Lime mortar like we do with the chalk ?