Glaciation Flashcards

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1
Q

When was the last ice age in Europe and the British Isles

A

The last ice age in Europe and the British isles was 18,000 years ago

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2
Q

Europe in the Ice Age

A

In Europe, about 18,000 years ago, ice sheets spread down from the north as climate cooled. As well as the great ice sheets, glaciers filled and eroded the valleys

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3
Q

Interglacial periods

A

Interglacial periods are warm periods between these glaciations. Temperatures can be higher than they are today

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4
Q

Glacial periods

A

Glacial periods are ice advances, the last one ended 10,000 years ago

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5
Q

The Mer de Glace glacier

A

The Mer de Glace is an alpine glacier located on the northern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif, in the French Alps.

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6
Q

What is a Glacier

A

A glacier is a mass of moving ice

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7
Q

Characteristics of a glacier

A
Snowfall
Jagged mountain peaks 
Cirque/Corrie 
Crevasses 
Snout
Terminal moraine
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8
Q

High Latitude

A

High latitude means the glacier is closer to the poles and further away from the equator

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9
Q

High altitude

A

Away from the poles glaciers only exist in mountainous terrain. As long as the mountain is high enough there will even be glaciers close to the equator.

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10
Q

Glacial Advancement

A

When more snow falls than melts the glacier grows

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11
Q

Glacial Retreat

A

When more snow melts than falls so the glacier melts or retreats

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12
Q

Accumulation

A

accumulation is greater in the higher reaches of the glacier

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13
Q

Ablation

A

ablation is greater in the lower, warmer reaches of the glacier

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14
Q

How are glaciers formed

A

1) snowflakes collect or accumulate in a hollow in a mountainside.
2) more and more snow falls on the flakes, increasing the density or weight.
3) the increased weight compresses the snow at the bottom into solid ice.
4) If the ice doesn’t melt and the snow continues to fall, the ice mass (glacier) will become bigger and heavier. Gravity will cause it to move downhill very slowly.

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15
Q

Glacial Processes

A

Frost shattering (freeze-thaw weathering), abrasion (striations) and plucking

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16
Q

Frost shattering (freeze-thaw weathering)

A

A type of weathering where water repeatedly freezes and puts pressure on rocks to break them down. The rock will have cracks in it, then the cracks will fill with water, the rock will start to expand, finally the pressure will cause the rock to explode and then the process repeats again. The cracks in the ice are called crevasses and they are extremely dangerous.

17
Q

Abrasion

A

Abrasion occurs when rocks and stones, picked up by the Glacier are rubbed against the bedrock at the bottom and side of the glacier, as the glacier moves downhill. This causes wearing on the landscape (sandpaper effect). This grinding leaves long grooves in the bedrock called striations or smooth polished crock (which is smooth and shiny).

18
Q

Plucking

A

This is when rocks and stones become frozen to the base of the glacier and are plucked from the ground as the glacier moves

19
Q

Glacial landforms created by erosion

A
Corries.
Arêtes.
Pyramidal peaks.
Glacial troughs.
Truncated spurs.
Hanging valleys.
20
Q

How corries are formed

A

1) Snow accumulates in the north and east facing hollows.
2) Snow is compacted into ice and moves downhill.
3) Frost shattering and plucking create a steep backwall.
4) abrasion deepens the hollow and forms a rock basin.
5) A rock lip is left where the rate of erosion decreased.
6) The height of the lip is increased by deposition of moraine.
7) The rock lip and moraine act as a dam
8) A corrie lake (tarn) fills the rock basin after the ice age.

21
Q

What are arêtes and how are they formed

A

An arête is a narrow knife - edged ridge on the mountain top. Generally forms around a corrie. When two corries are formed back to back they both erode backwards until they create a narrow knife - edge ridge between them.

22
Q

How are Pyramidal Peaks formed

A

When three or more corries cut back into the same mountain they leave a pyramidal peak

23
Q

Glacial landforms created by glacial deposition

A

Moraines.
Drumlins.
Erratics.
Crag and tail.

24
Q

What are Moraines and how are they formed

A

A moraine is the type of landform that is created when a glacier deposits the material (till) that it has been transporting. It is made up of unsorted angular rocks. There are several types of moraine

25
Q

Different types of moraine

A
Ground moraine.
Terminal moraine.
Medial moraine.
Lateral moraine.
Recessional moraine.
26
Q

Ground moraine

A

It is dragged beneath a glacier and forms parts of the valley floor

27
Q

Terminal moraine

A

It is found at the snout and marks the maximum advance of a glacier

28
Q

Medial moraine

A

It is found in the centre of a glacier.

29
Q

Lateral moraine

A

It is produced from frost shattering of the valley sides and is carried at the sides of the glacier.

30
Q

Recessional moraine

A

It is formed at the snout of a glacier when the retreat of the glacier is halted for a period of time. They can be found between the snout of the glacier on the terminal moraine

31
Q

Drumlins

A

Drumlins are formed of tail. They are elongated features that can reach a kilometre or more in length, 500 m or so in width and over 50 m in height. It is common to find several drumlins group together. A collection of drumlins is called a swarm

32
Q

Erratics

A

An erratic is a boulder that is different to the bedrock upon which it is sitting. They have been transported and deposited by a glacier. Therefore erratics are useful indicators of patterns of former ice flow

33
Q

Deposition

A

Deposition occurs when a rise in temperature causes ice to melt and the glacier is no longer able to carry as much material