Factors driving the change in magnitude of water stores over time and space — Cryospheric Processes Flashcards
Define Cryospheric Processes
. The processes that affect the total mass of ice.
Name two types of Cryospheric processes
. Accumulation
. Ablation
Define Accumulation
. When snow or ice is inputted or added
Define Ablation
. When snow or ice is removed .
What do the two Cryoshperic processes do?
. They both change the amount of water stored as ice in the cryosphere.
. The balance of accumulation and ablation vary with temperature
How many MAJOR glacial periods have there been?
Five
What is the Quaternary Glaciation period?
. It is the most recent Quaternary Glaciation Period
. Started over 2.5 million years ago and still CONTINUES today.
What happened in the Quaternary Glacial Period?
*This can happened in other Glacial Periods as well
. During glacial periods where temperatures were lower, inputs into the cryosphere were greater than outputs .Water is transferred to the cryosphere as snow and ice (cryospheric process of accumulation), and less water is transferred away due to the cryospheric process of ablation.
.Sea levels was lower than present, due to the large volume of ice on land. Continental Glaciers covered large parts of the Globe. This meant an INTERRUPTION in the global hydrological cycle
. However, in interglacial periods where temperatures rose, ablation exceeded accumulation, the hydrological cycle returned, as the magnitude of the cryosphere store reduced.
. There have been 8 such glacial cycles, over the last 740,000 years
Define Interglacial period
. Warmer Period of time between two glacial period
. Glaciers retreat and sea levels rise
Define Permafrost
Formed when air temperatures are so low that they freeze and soil and groundwater present. It rarely occurs under the ice, because the temperatures are not low enough
