Glaciated Landscapes: Factors That Affect Glaciers Flashcards
What are the four physical factors that affect a glacial system?
Geology, relief and aspect, climate, and latitude and altitude
What are the two elements of geology?
Lithology (type/make of the rock) and structure (softness/hardness and shape of the rock)
What is relief and aspect?
Direction of the sun and the steepness of the slope
What is climate?
The weather and typical temperatures of an area
What is latitude and altitude?
How north or south (latitude) or how high or low (altitude) an area is
How are glaciers affected by latitude and altitude?
At low latitude high altitude, valley glaciers are found, whereas at high latitude low altitude, ice sheets are found
How does rock lithology affect glaciers?
Soft rocks are eroded more, whereas hard rocks are eroded less, and different rock types such as limestone (mostly calcium carbonate) are more vulnerable to weathering such as carbonation
How does rock structure affect glaciers?
Porous rocks such as chalk can absorb and store water, and the angle of the rock layers can affect the steepness of the slopes
How does climate affects glaciers?
Wind erodes and transports material, precipitation adds more snow and rain into a system and temperature changes increases ablation
How does relief affect glaciers?
The steeper the slope the faster the glacier will move, which will have more erosion and will melt quicker
How does aspect affect glaciers?
Slopes that face the direction of the sun will have more melting, whereas slopes that face away from the sun will have more buildup of snow, and therefore will be eroded by glacial ice faster
