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Geography

How Retreating Glaciers Expose New Proglacial Landscapes and Ecosystems

Quick fact

In some proglacial areas, pioneer mosses and lichens can begin growing within just a few years of ice retreat, and a continuous vegetation cover may develop in as little as 50 years, although full forest ecosystems may take centuries to establish.

Why this is interesting

Imagine a landscape that has been buried under ice for thousands of years, suddenly revealed to the sun. What happens to this raw, barren ground as the ice retreats?