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Science Olympaid 2025 > Dynamic Planet > Flashcards

Dynamic Planet Flashcards

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1
Q

Ablation Area

A

The area of a glacier where more glacier mass is lost than gained.

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2
Q

Ablation Hollows

A

Depressions in the snow surface caused by the sun or warm, gusty wind.

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3
Q

Ablation Moraine

A

Mound or layer of moraine in the ablation zone of a glacier; the rock has been plucked from the mountainside by the moving glacier and is melting out on the ice surface.

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4
Q

Ablation Season

A

Period during which glaciers lose more mass than they gain; usually coincides with summer.

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5
Q

Ablation Zone

A

Area or zone of a glacier where snow and ice ablation exceed accumulation.

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6
Q

Accumulation Area

A

Area of a glacier where more mass is gained than lost.

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7
Q

Accumulation Season

A

Period during which a glacier gains more mass than it loses usually coincides with winter.

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8
Q

Accumulation Zone

A

Area of a glacier where more mass is gained than lost.

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9
Q

Advance

A

When a mountain glacier’s terminus extends farther down valley than before; glacial advance occurs when a glacier flows down valley faster than the rate of ablation at its terminus.

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10
Q

Alpine Glacier

A

A glacier that is confined by surrounding mountain terrain; also called a mountain glacier.

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11
Q

Arête

A

Sharp, narrow ridge formed as a result of glacial erosion from both sides.

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12
Q

Band Ogives

A

Alternate bands of light and dark on a glacier; usually found below steep narrow icefalls and thought to be the result of different flow and ablation rates between summer and winter.

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13
Q

Basal Sliding

A

The sliding of a glacier over bedrock.

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14
Q

Bergschrund

A

Crevasse that separates flowing ice from stagnant ice at the head of a glacier.

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15
Q

Branched-Valley Glacier

A

Glacier that has one or more tributary glaciers that flow into it; distinguished from a simple valley glacier that has only a single tributary glacier.

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16
Q

Catchment Glacier

A

A semi permanent mass of firn formed by drifted snow behind obstructions or in the ground; also called a snowdrift glacier or a drift glacier.

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17
Q

Chattermarks

A

Striations or marks left on the surface of exposed bedrock caused by the advance and retreat of glacier ice.

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18
Q

Cirque

A

Bowl shaped or amphitheater usually sculpted out of the mountain terrain by a cirque glacier. Also called a corrie or cwm.

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19
Q

Cirque Glacier

A

Glacier that resides in basins or amphitheaters near ridge crests; most cirque glaciers have a characteristic circular shape, with their width as wide or wider than their length.

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20
Q

Cold Glacier

A

Glacier in which most of the ice is below the pressure melting point; nonetheless the glacier’s surface may be susceptible to melt due to incoming solar radiation.

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21
Q

Compression Flow

A

Flow that occurs when glacier motion is decelerating down-slope.

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22
Q

Constructive Metamorphism

A

Snow metamorphism that adds molecules to sharpen the corners and edges of an ice crystal.

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23
Q

Crevasse

A

Open fissure in the glacier surface.

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24
Q

Crevasse Hoar

A

A kind of hoarfrost; ice crystals that develop by sublimation in glacial crevasses and in other cavities with cooled space and calm, still conditions.

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25
Q

Dead Ice

A

Any part of a glacier which has ceased to flow; dead ice is usually covered with moraine.

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26
Q

Dirt Cone

A

A cone-shaped formation of ice that is covered by dirt; caused by a differential pattern of ablation between the dirt-covered surface and bare ice.

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27
Q

Drain Channel

A

Preferred path for meltwater to flow from the surface through a snow cover.

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28
Q

Drift Glacier

A

A semi-permanent mass of firn formed by drifted snow behind obstructions or in the ground; also called a catchment glacier or a snowdrift glacier.

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29
Q

Drumlin

A

Remnant elongated hills formed by historical glacial action; it is not clear exactly how they are formed.

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30
Q

Dump Moraine

A

A mound or layer of moraine formed along the edge of a glacier by rocks that fall off the ice; sometimes called a ground moraine.

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31
Q

End Moraine

A

An arch-shaped ridge of moraine found near the end of a glacier.

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32
Q

Equilibrium Zone

A

Zone of a glacier in which the amount of precipitation that falls is equal to the amount that melts the following summer.

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33
Q

Esker

A

A sinuous ridge of sedimentary material (typically gravel or sand) deposited by streams that cut channels under or through the glacier ice.

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34
Q

Extending flow

A

When glacier motion is accelerating down-slope.

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35
Q

False ogives

A

Bands of light and dark on a glacier that were formed by rock avalanching.

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36
Q

Fjord

A

Glacial troughs that fill with seawater.

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37
Q

Foliation

A

Layering in glacier ice that has distinctive crystal sizes and/or bubbles; usually caused by stress and deformation.

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38
Q

Forbes bands

A

Alternate bands of light and dark on a glacier; usually found below steep narrow icefalls.

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39
Q

Forel stripes

A

Shallow, parallel grooves on the face of a large melting ice crystal.

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40
Q

Geyser

A

Fountain that develops when water from a conduit is forced up to the surface of a glacier; also called a negative mill.

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41
Q

Glacial advance

A

When a mountain glacier’s terminus extends farther downvalley than before; occurs when a glacier flows downvalley faster than the rate of ablation at its terminus.

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42
Q

Glacial Erratic

A

A boulder swept from its place of origin by glacier advance or retreat and deposited elsewhere as the glacier melted.

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43
Q

Glacial grooves

A

Grooves or gouges cut into the bedrock by gravel and rocks carried by glacial ice and meltwater; also called glacial striations.

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44
Q

Glacial retreat

A

When the position of a mountain glacier’s terminus is farther upvalley than before; occurs when a glacier ablates more material at its terminus than it transports into that region.

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45
Q

Glacial striations

A

Grooves or gouges cut into the bedrock by gravel and rocks carried by glacial ice and meltwater; also called glacial grooves.

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46
Q

Glacial till

A

Accumulations of unsorted, unstratified mixtures of clay, silt, sand, gravel, and boulders; the usual composition of a moraine.

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47
Q

Glacial trough

A

A large u-shaped valley formed from a v-shaped valley by glacial erosion.

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48
Q

Glaciated

A

Land covered in the past by any form of glacier is said to be glaciated.

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49
Q

Glacier

A

A mass of ice that originates on land, usually having an area larger than one-tenth of a square kilometer.

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50
Q

Glacier cave

A

A cave of ice, usually underneath a glacier and formed by meltwater.

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51
Q

Glacier fire

A

A phenomenon in which strong reflection of the sun on an icy surface causes a glacier to look like it is on fire.

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52
Q

Glacier flood

A

A sudden outburst of water released by a glacier.

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53
Q

Glacier flour

A

A fine powder of silt- and clay-sized particles that a glacier creates as its rock-laden ice scrapes over bedrock.

54
Q

Glacier ice

A

Well-bonded ice crystals compacted from snow with a bulk density greater than 860 kilograms per cubic meter.

55
Q

Glacier mill

A

A nearly vertical channel in ice that is formed by flowing water.

56
Q

Glacier pothole

A

Potholes formed at the bottom of glaciers through erosion caused by sand and gravel in melt-water.

57
Q

Glacier remainie

A

A glacier that is reconstructed or reconstituted out of other glacier material.

58
Q

Glacier snout

A

The lowest end of a glacier; also called glacier terminus or toe.

59
Q

Glacier sole

A

The bottom of the ice of a glacier.

60
Q

Glacier table

A

A rock that resides on a pedestal of ice; formed by differential ablation between the rock-covered ice and surrounding bare ice.

61
Q

Glacier terminus

A

The lowest end of a glacier; also called glacier snout or toe.

62
Q

Glacier toe

A

The lowest end of a glacier; also called glacier snout or terminus.

63
Q

Glacier trough

A

U-shaped valleys transformed from v-shaped stream valleys due to erosion caused by passing glaciers.

64
Q

Glacieret

A

A very small glacier.

65
Q

Glacierized

A

Land overlaid at present by a glacier is said to be covered.

66
Q

Ground moraine

A

Continuous layer of till near the edge or underneath a steadily retreating glacier.

67
Q

Hanging glacier

A

A glacier that terminates at or near the top of a cliff.

68
Q

Hanging valley

A

A valley formed by a small glacier that has a valley bottom relatively higher than nearby valleys formed by larger glaciers.

69
Q

Headwall

A

A steep cliff, usually the uppermost part of a cirque.

70
Q

Horn

A

A peak or pinnacle thinned and eroded by three or more glacial cirques.

71
Q

Ice apron

A

A mass of ice adhering to a mountainside.

72
Q

Ice cap

A

A dome-shaped mass of glacier ice that spreads out in all directions; usually larger than an icefield but less than 50,000 square kilometers.

73
Q

Ice cave

A

A cave of ice, usually underneath a glacier and formed by meltwater.

74
Q

Ice covered

A

Land overlaid at present by a glacier is said to be covered.

75
Q

Ice divide

A

The boundary separating opposing flow directions of ice on a glacier or ice sheet.

76
Q

Ice quake

A

A shaking of ice caused by crevasse formation or jerky motion.

77
Q

Ice sheet

A

A dome-shaped mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 square kilometers.

78
Q

Ice stream

A

A current of ice in an ice sheet or ice cap that flows faster than the surrounding ice.

79
Q

Ice-cemented glacier

A

A rock glacier that has interstitial ice a meter or so below the surface.

80
Q

Ice-cored glacier

A

A rock glacier that has a buried core of ice.

81
Q

Icefall

A

Part of a glacier with rapid flow and a chaotic crevassed surface; occurs where the glacier bed steepens or narrows.

82
Q

Ice field

A

A mass of glacier ice; similar to an ice cap, and usually smaller and lacking a dome-like shape.

83
Q

Jokulhlaup

A

A large outburst flood that usually occurs when a glacially dammed lake drains catastrophically.

84
Q

Lateral moraine

A

A ridge-shaped moraine deposited at the side of a glacier and composed of material eroded from the valley walls.

85
Q

Marginal crevasse

A

A crevasse near the side of a glacier formed as the glacier moves past stationary valley walls.

86
Q

Medial moraine

A

A ridge-shaped moraine in the middle of a glacier originating from a rock outcrop, nunatak, or the converging lateral moraines of two or more ice streams.

87
Q

Meltwater conduit

A

A channel within, underneath, on top of, or near the side of a glacier that drains meltwater out of the glacier.

88
Q

Moraine

A

A mound, ridge, or other distinct accumulation of glacial till.

89
Q

Moraine shoal

A

Glacial moraine that has formed a shallow place in water.

90
Q

Moulin

A

A nearly vertical channel in ice that is formed by flowing water.

91
Q

Mountain glacier

A

A glacier that is confined by surrounding mountain terrain; also called an alpine glacier.

92
Q

Negative mill

A

A geyser; a fountain that develops when water from a conduit is forced up to the surface of a glacier.

93
Q

Niche glacier

A

Very small glacier that occupies gullies and hollows on north-facing slopes; may develop into cirque glacier if conditions are favorable.

94
Q

Nunatak

A

A rocky crag or small mountain projecting from and surrounded by a glacier or ice sheet.

95
Q

Ogives

A

Alternate bands of light and dark ice seen on a glacier surface.

96
Q

Outburst flood

A

Any catastrophic flooding from a glacier; may originate from trapped water in cavities inside a glacier.

97
Q

Outlet glacier

A

A valley glacier which drains an inland ice sheet or ice cap and flows through a gap in peripheral mountains.

98
Q

Paternoster lakes

A

A series of tarns connected by a single stream or a braided stream system.

99
Q

Piedmont glacier

A

Large ice lobe spread out over surrounding terrain, associated with the terminus of a large mountain valley glacier.

100
Q

Polar glacier

A

A glacier entirely below freezing, except possibly for a thin layer of melt near the surface during summer.

101
Q

Pothole

A

A nearly vertical channel in ice that is formed by flowing water.

102
Q

Push moraine

A

Moraine built out ahead of an advancing glacier.

103
Q

Randkluft

A

A fissure that separates a moving glacier from its headwall rock.

104
Q

Reconstituted glacier

A

A glacier that is reconstructed or reconstituted out of other glacier material.

105
Q

Reconstructed glacier

A

A glacier that is reconstructed or reconstituted out of other glacier material.

106
Q

Regelation

A

Motion of an object through ice by melting and freezing that is caused by pressure differences.

107
Q

Regenerated glacier

A

A glacier that is reconstructed or reconstituted out of other glacier material.

108
Q

Retreat

A

When a mountain glacier’s terminus doesn’t extend as far downvalley as it previously did; occurs when ablation surpasses accumulation.

109
Q

Retreating glacier

A

A glacier whose terminus is farther upvalley than before.

110
Q

What is the process that allows a glacier to slide past small obstacles on its bed?

A

The melting and freezing of an object through ice caused by pressure differences.

111
Q

What is a regenerated glacier?

A

A glacier reconstructed or reconstituted out of other glacier material, usually formed by seracs falling from a hanging glacier then re-adhering.

Also called reconstituted or reconstructed glacier, or glacier remainie.

112
Q

What does retreat mean in glaciology?

A

When a mountain glacier’s terminus doesn’t extend as far downvalley as it previously did, occurring when ablation surpasses accumulation.

113
Q

What is a retreating glacier?

A

A glacier whose terminus is increasingly retreating upvalley compared to its previous position due to a higher level of ablation compared to accumulation.

114
Q

What is rock flour?

A

A fine powder of silt- and clay-sized particles created as a glacier scrapes over bedrock, usually flushed out in meltwater streams, causing water to look powdery gray.

Lakes and oceans that fill with glacier flour may develop a banded appearance.

115
Q

What is a rock glacier?

A

A glacier that looks like a mountain glacier and has active flow, usually including a poorly sorted mess of rocks and fine material.

116
Q

What are sedimentary ogives?

A

Alternating bands of light and dark at the firn limit of a glacier, with light bands being younger and darker as they progress down-glacier.

117
Q

What is a serac?

A

An isolated block of ice formed where the glacier surface is fractured.

118
Q

What is sintering?

A

The bonding together of ice crystals.

119
Q

What is a snowdrift glacier?

A

A semipermanent mass of firn formed by drifted snow behind obstructions or in the ground.

Also called a catchment glacier or a drift glacier.

120
Q

What is a splay crevasse?

A

A crevasse pattern that forms where ice slowly spreads out sideways, commonly found near a glacier terminus.

121
Q

What is a sub polar glacier?

A

A glacier whose temperature regime is between polar and temperate, usually predominantly below freezing but could experience extensive summer melt.

122
Q

What is a surging glacier?

A

A glacier that experiences a dramatic increase in flow rate, 10 to 100 times faster than its normal rate, usually lasting less than one year and occurring periodically, between 15 and 100 years.

123
Q

What is a tarn?

A

A small mountain lake or pool.

124
Q

What is a terminus?

A

The lowest end of a glacier, also called the glacier toe or glacier snout.

125
Q

What is a Thomson crystal?

A

A large ice crystal found in deep, stagnant water-filled cavities of a glacier.

126
Q

What is a tidewater glacier?

A

A mountain glacier that terminates in the ocean.

127
Q

What is a tongue in glaciology?

A

A projection of the ice edge up to several km in length caused by wind and current, usually forming when a valley glacier moves very quickly into a lake or ocean.

128
Q

What is a tributary glacier?

A

A small glacier that flows into a larger glacier.

129
Q

What is a valley glacier?

A

A mountain glacier whose flow is confined by valley walls.

130
Q

What are wave ogives?

A

Ogives that show some vertical relief on a glacier, with dark bands in the hollows and light bands in the ridges, forming at the base of steep, narrow ice falls.

131
Q

What is weathered ice?

A

Glacier ice that has been exposed to sun or warm wind so that the boundaries between ice crystals are partly disintegrated.

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