EQ3 Flashcards
What are the glacial erosion processes
Plucking
Abrasion
Glacial crushing
Fluvio-glacial erosion
Freeze-thaw weathering
What is glacial plucking and why might it occur?
Plucking is where ice attaches itself to the rock, as the ice moves forward it pulls out the rock. Loose rock is now found at the bedrock.
Plucking will occur when rocks are well-jointed and weakened and where meltwater is present at the base of the glacier due to pressure melting
What is glacial abrasion?
Glacial abrasion is the process by which rock particles transported at the base of a glacier are moved across a bedrock surface, scratching and wearing it away.
What is glacial crushing?
The direct fracturing of weak bedrock by the weight of ice above it
What is fluvioglacial erosion?
The meltwater created when glaciers melt
What is freeze-thaw weathering?
When water enters into the cracks of rocks which then freezes as the temperature drops and as the ice expands there is an increase in pressure and it pushes the crack apart making it larger.
