Distribution/ Glacial Processes and Landforms Flashcards
What are the four different types of cold environments?
Glacial, Periglacial, Alpine and Polar.
What are the three main reasons that environments are cold?
The three main reasons that environments are cold are; high altitude, high latitude or because the effect of continentality.
What are glacials environments and where are they found?
Glacial environments are areas of land that are permanently covered by ice (glaciers or ice sheets) They are found at high altitude or high latitude, not in the middle of continents as there is not enough snow there
What is a glacier? Describe the two different types.
Glaciers are masses of ice that flow downhill.
Valley Glaciers fill valleys and can be several kilometres long e.g. The Franz Josef Glacier, NZ
Corrie Glaciers are smaller and found in bowl shaped hollows up in the mountains e.g. Lower Curtis Glacier, Washington, USA
What’s an ice sheet?
Domes of ice that cover huge areas of land e.g. The Antarctic Ice Sheet (Southern Hemisphere) or the Greenland Ice Sheet (Northern Hemisphere)
Give two examples of Glacial environments that exist at high altitude.
Glaciers are found in the Himalayan mountains, regardless of the latitude (30) because there the highest mountain range in the world. Another example is the Antizana Glacier, Ecuador which is right on the equator.
What is a Periglacial Environment?
Periglacial environments are places where the temperature is frequently or constantly below freezing but not covered by ice. They contain a layer of permafrost on or below the surface.
Where are Periglacial environments found?
They are found at high altitude, high latitude and in the interior of land masses.
Give an example of Periglacial environments found at high altitude.
Periglacial conditions exist around ice masses in mountain ranges. They also found on high altitude plateau areas e.g. The Tibetan Plateau, Asia and The Bolivian plateau, South America.
Where can you find Periglacial conditions at high latitude?
You can find Periglacial conditions in the northern parts of Asia, North America and Europe.
Why can Periglacial conditions exist at lower latitude and altitude?
They can exist at lower latitude and lower altitude because of the effect of continentality e.g. Siberia, Central Asia.
What is an Alpine environment and where can they be found?
An alpine environment is a cold area of land that exists above the tree line. They are always found at high altitude e.g. The Himalayas, Asia OR The Andes, South America OR The Alps, Europe.
Can Alpine areas exist at any latitude?
Yes. An example of this is the Rocky Mountains, North America which contain alpine conditions at a latitude of 30-50.
Can alpine environments include Periglacial and glacial conditions?
Yes. Permafrost may exist above and below the tree line and snow and ice may exist even higher as temperatures decreases as altitude increases.
Where is the Arctic Polar environment found?
This is found in the North Pole, it can be defined as the Arctic circle (66N) ❄️
Give me some facts about the Arctic circle. For example why is it cold?
The Arctic circle is cold because it is 66N so therefore exists at Beth high latitude. The area around the North Pole is made up of sea ice which shrinks in the summer and refreezes in the winter.
Where is the Antarctic Polar environment found?
It is found in the South Pole (66S) ❄️
Why is the Antarctic Polar environment cold?
It’s cold because of its high latitude however some of the environment is also cold because it’s at a high altitude- the ice in some places is so thick it reaches an altitude of over 4000m. The interior of Antartica is also cold as the centre is hundreds of kilometres away from the warming of the oceans.
Name the inputs of the glacial system.
- Snow (from precipitation and avalanches)
- Condensation (from water vapour which freezes)
- Sublimation of water vapour to ice crystals
- Rock (collected from erosion)
Name the stores of the glacial system.
- Ice
- Meltwater found on, in or below the ice
- Debris (rocks, sand and gravel)
Name the outputs of the glacial system.
Ice- which can melt and flow out of the glacier as meltwater and snow- that can be blown away by strong winds or melt and evaporate. Both snow and ice and sublimate to water vapour and lastly another output is the effect of calving.
What is calving?
Calving is where blocks of ice fall from the snout of the glacier into the sea to create ice bergs.
