Eskers are ridges of glaciofluvial sediment deposited in ice-walled channels or subglacial tunnels. Those deposited supraglacially are closely related to kames. Eskers appear in the postglacial landscape as long sinuous ridges of sand and gravel, and can be used to reconstruct glacial drainage patterns. Because eskers form in a variety of different glacial settings and take a variety of specific forms they are valuable indicators of former glacial conditions.
Subglacial eskers most commonly form in channels running through the ice at the glacier bed and are sometimes referred to as tunnel-fill eskers. Where water flow in the tunnel is at high pressure the routing is controlled by ice surface gradient and the pattern of water pressure beneath the glacier, so eskers can flow uphill as well as down and do not follow the topography. Similarly, supraglacial eskers draped onto the ground when lowered by ice wastage will not necessarily follow the topography. However, water flowing through a...
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Bibliography
Benn, D. I., and Evans, D.J.A., 1998. Glaciers and Glaciation, London, UK: Arnold, 734pp.
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Knight, P.G. (2009). Eskers. In: Gornitz, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_83
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