Glacial landscapes

Question 1

What two national parks in the UK can show us evidence that the UK used to be glacialated?

Answer 1

The Lake District and Snowdonia

Question 2

What is Palynology and how it is useful?

Answer 2

• It is the study of pollen fossils
• Used to analyse past environments, climate and ecosystem

Question 3

What is a Diatom?

Answer 3

• They are aqautic microscopic unicellular algae
• Absorb nutrients and CO2 from water
• Used to reconstruct past environements

Question 4

Moraine

Answer 4

• Medial, formed from two lateral morainesnmeeting in the middle of a glacier
• Lateral, material deposited on the glacier side, leaving an ridge when the glacier melts
• Reccessional, formes at the end of a glacier when a retreating glacier stays stationary for a long period of time
• Terminal, material deposited at the snout of the glacier on valley floor

Question 5

Drumlins

Answer 5

Elongated hills of glacier deposition, made of material accumulation under glacier

Question 6

Till plains

Answer 6

(Lowland), Till becoming deposited when icesheet detach from glacier body

Question 7

Ablation till

Answer 7

(Lowland), accumulation of till by the melting of stagant ice

Question 8

Aretes

Answer 8

A knife edged ridge formed from erosion of two corrie backwalls

Question 9

Pyramid peaks

Answer 9

formed from erosion between three or more corries, producing a peak

Question 10

Glacial troughs

Answer 10

Erosion grinds a v-shaped valley into a U

Question 11

Truncated spurs

Answer 11

Formed when a glacier cuts and erodes interlocking spurs

Question 12

Hanging valley

Answer 12

Main valley erodes eroses quicker than tributary valley

Question 13

Ribbon lake

Answer 13

An area of soft rock is eroded more readily than surrounding hard rock on valley floor. Plucking and abrasion create hollows that fill up with rain water

Question 14

Rouche mountonnees

Answer 14

Small rocks are not always removed and becomes polished by abrasion

Question 15

Knock and Lochan

Answer 15

A scoured lowlad which displays alternating Rouch moutonnees and small lakes

Question 16

Crag-and-tail

Answer 16

A tapered ridge of glacial deposits extended to one side

Question 17

What is Earth’s icesystem called?

Answer 17

The Cryosphere

Question 18

How much land surface do glaciers cover in Antarctica and Greenland?

Answer 18

98% and 80%

Question 19

Valley Glaciers

Answer 19

• (Alpine glacier) form in cold mountain ranges and move downslope
• In warm climates, these glaciers are only found at mountin heads
• Glaciers that flow down coastal mountains may terminate at the ocean, where iceberg calving takes place

Question 20

Continental glaciers

Answer 20

• A thick icesheet covering a icemass
• All glaciers contain 75% of all freshwater
• Makes up 90% of the cryosphere

Question 21

How is a glacier formed?

Answer 21

• When a abundent winter snowfall does not melt away in the summar
• As a snowflake lays on the ground, they shrink and become granular.
• When new flakes fall, the old snow getts buried and compacted even further
• This is called Firn which eventually turns to Ice
• A climate of moisture is needed

Question 22

Causes of Ablation?

Answer 22

• Iceberg calving
• Melting
• Wind
• Sublimation

Question 23

Plastic flow

Answer 23

Movements take place as a deformation and happens in colder climates

Question 24

Basal slip

Answer 24

• Occurs in warmer regions
• Icemelting point decreases under pressure so ice at the base melts quicker
• This meltwater acts like alubricant
• This can cause a period of fast movement called a Surge