Ch. 6 (Taylor)

Question 1

What is the difference between ice sheets and alpine/valley glaciers?

Answer 1

ice sheets: large scale glaciers that can cover entire continents
alpine/valley glaciers: form in mountainous areas at higher elevations

Question 2

What are the different ways a glacier can move?

Answer 2

plastic flow and fracture/brittle flow

Question 3

What is plastic flow?

Answer 3

when a glacier moves, the ice deforms and moves without the ice breaking
occurs near the bottom of a glacier

Question 4

What is fracture/brittle flow?

Answer 4

when a glacier moves, the ice fractures
occurs near the top of the glacier
includes crevasses that open when ice fractures during movement

Question 5

What are the erosional glacial features that occur?

Answer 5

Plucking: loosening and lifting of solid rock as a result of freeze/thaw action at areas of weakness
Abrasion: scraping against solid rock

Question 6

What is Cirque?

Answer 6

bowl shaped depression in the zone of accumulation, at the top of the glacier

Question 7

What is Arete?

Answer 7

glaciated ridges between to troughs

Question 8

What is Horn?

Answer 8

glaciated peak

Question 9

What is Fjord?

Answer 9

glacier that terminates at a large water body

Question 10

List the different types of glacial landforms

Answer 10

cirque, arete, horn, fjord

Question 11

What are the glacial deposition features

Answer 11

moraines, outwash plains/valley trains, kettles, drumlins, eskers, kames

Question 12

What are the different types of moraines?

Answer 12

Lateral: sediment built up on the sides of a glacier
Medial: forms when two or more lateral moraines coalesce
End: mound of till found at the terminus of a glacier, represents the farthest advance of a glacier
Ground: subsequent moraines that form as a glacier recedes

Question 13

Definition of Moraines

Answer 13

layers or ridges of sediments at the edges of a glacier

Question 14

What is an outwash plains/valley train?

Answer 14

valley where running water deposits glacial drift

Question 15

What are Kettles?

Answer 15

depressions in glacial till filled with water, where solitary chunks of ice become buried in till, later melt, forming a depression in the till

Question 16

What is a drumlin?

Answer 16

tear drop shaped hill of till
made by large obstruction that glacier was unable to move
ice direction of movement from head toward tail

Question 17

What are eskers?

Answer 17

sinus ridges of sand and gravel, formerly a sub-glacial stream

Question 18

What are kames?

Answer 18

large hill of sand and gravel

made when large depressions in receding glaciers are filled with mounds of stratified drift

Question 19

How does water play an important role in shaping deserts?

Answer 19

rain often occurs as heavy showers –> causes flash floods –> interior drainage (streams have no drainage pattern) –> desert streams are ephemeral (flow only during periods of rainfall) –> most erosional work in a desert is done by running water

Question 20

What are the causes of wind erosion?

Answer 20

deflation, blowouts, desert pavement, wind abrasion