How to grow your own glacier - M Jackson

未能成功加载,请稍后再试
0/0

In the 13th Century, Genghis Khan embarked on a mission to take over Eurasia, swiftly conquering countries and drawing them into his expanding Mongol Empire.

With his vast armies he became almost unstoppable.

But, legend has it that there was one obstacle that even the impressive Khan couldn't overcome: A towering wall of ice, grown by locals across a mountain pass to stop the Khan's armies from invading their territory.

No one knows how historically accurate that particular story is, but remarkably, it draws on fact: For centuries, in the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges, people have been growing glaciers and using these homemade bodies of ice as sources of drinking water and irrigation for their crops.

But before we get to that fascinating phenomenon, it's important to understand the difference between glaciers that grow in the wild, and those that humans create.

In the wild, glaciers require three conditions to grow: Snowfall, cold temperatures, and time.

First, a great deal of snow falls and accumulates.

Cold temperatures then ensure that the stacked up snow persists throughout the winter, spring, summer, and fall.

Over the following years, decades, and centuries, the pressure of the accumulated snow transforms layers into highly compacted glacial ice.

Artificially growing a glacier, however, is completely different.

下载全新《每日英语听力》客户端,查看完整内容