Glaciation Facts And Figures Flashcards
1
Q
What is the density of snowfall?
A
90% air
0.1g/cm3
2
Q
What is the density of firn/neve?
A
50% air
0.5g/cm3
3
Q
What is density of glacial ice?
A
10% air
0.9g/cm3
4
Q
What size classifies as an ice sheet?
A
50,000km2
5
Q
What percentage does the solar output vary by?
A
0.1%
6
Q
When did rapid deglaciation begin?
A
18,000 yrs BP
7
Q
When did temperatures get similar to today from deglaciation?
A
15,000 yrs BP
8
Q
When was the sudden cooling that dropped temperatures by 6-7โC?
A
12,500-11,500 BP
9
Q
When was the Devensian period and when was the maximum glacial advance?
A
110,000 yrs BP - 10,000 yrs BP
18,000 yrs BP
10
Q
How many ice age animals became extinct due to meteorite impact?
A
60
11
Q
When was the Laacher See volcanic eruption?
A
12,900 yrs BP
12
Q
What was the VEI of the Laacher See eruption?
A
6
13
Q
How wide was the caldera volcanic lake? (Laacher See eruption theory)
A
2km
14
Q
When was the medieval warm period?
A
800-1300 AD
15
Q
How many Vikings colonised Iceland and Greenland?
A
5000 people
16
Q
When was the little ice age?
A
1350-1850
17
Q
How much lower were the temperatures in the little ice age compared to today?
A
1-1.5โC lower
18
Q
What is the environmental lapse rate?
A
For every 100m, you lose 0.6โC
19
Q
How long is a glacial period?
A
100,000 years
20
Q
How long is an interglacial period?
A
10,000-20,000 years
21
Q
What is the minimum tilt of the earth? (Milankovitch cycle)
A
22.1โC
22
Q
What is the maximum tilt of the earth? (Milankovitch cycle)
A
24.5โC
23
Q
How often does precession/the wobble occur? (Milankovitch cycle)
A
Occurs on a 21,000 year cycle
24
Q
When did the Pleistocene epoch occur? (Quaternary ice age)
A
2.6M yrs BP to 10,000 yrs BP
25
When did the Holocene epoch occur? (Quaternary ice age)
10,000 yrs BP to present
26
When was the Devensian period?
110,000 yrs BP to 10,000 yrs BP
27
What is the diameter of an open/closed system pingo? (Periglacial feature)
100-500m
28
What is the size of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap?๐ณ๐ด
487km2
| 80km long
29
What is the range of altitude of the Briksdalsbreen glacier?๐ณ๐ด
1910m to 350m
30
How much did the snout of the Briks Dale glacier decrease by in 1950?๐ณ๐ด
Decreased by 40m
31
How much did the Briks Dale glacier increase by in 1993?๐ณ๐ด
Advanced by 80m
32
For how many of the 51 years from 1950 to 2001 did the Briks Dale glacier have a positive/negative mass balance?๐ณ๐ด
Positive - 29 years
| Negative - 22 years
33
In 15 exceptional years, the glacier advanced/retreated by more than 20m. How many of these years had a positive mass balance?๐ณ๐ด
Positive - 13 years
34
In 1996, how much longer was the glacier compared to its 1950 length?๐ณ๐ด
525m longer
35
For permafrost, how many consecutive years does the soil temperature have to below 0โC?
At least 2 consecutive years
36
Approximately how much of the earths land surface is covered by permafrost? (Percentage)
25%
37
By what percentage does water expand by when it freezes?
9%
38
During frost creep,by what percentage does the soil heave to the plane?
90%
39
How long is the Hubbard Glacier, Alaska?๐บ๐ธ (surging glaciers)
150km
40
By how much does the the Hubbard Glacier, Alaska, advance each day?๐บ๐ธ (surging glaciers)
10m a day
41
When did the the Hubbard Glacier, Alaska, block the mouth of the Russel Fjord?๐บ๐ธ (surging glaciers)
May 1986
42
How long was the lake created out of the Russel Fjord after it was blocked off?๐บ๐ธ (surging glaciers)
50km
43
By how many metres did the lake levels rise?๐บ๐ธ (surging glacier)
25 metres
44
When did the lake break through the ice dam?๐บ๐ธ (surging glaciers)
2 DATES
* October 1986
| * 2002
45
Who was a wilderness campaigner in the US?๐บ๐ธ(value of glacial and periglacial landscapes)
Jon Muir
46
How old is Yellowstone National Park?๐บ๐ธ(Value of glacial and periglacial landscapes)
1872 - oldest in the world
47
How old is Yosemite National Park?๐บ๐ธ(Value of glacial and periglacial landscapes)
1890
48
How long has skiing been used in Norway?๐ณ๐ด(Value of glacial and periglacial landscapes)
5000 years
49
When were the first skiing competitions in Norway?๐ณ๐ด(Value of glacial and periglacial landscapes)
1840s
50
How many winter Olympic medals has Norway won?๐ณ๐ด(Value of glacial and periglacial landscapes)
Over 329 medals (more than any other country) - but only has a population of 5.2M
51
How many Norwegian resistance fighters outskied German troops and for how many kilometres?๐ณ๐ด(Value of glacial and periglacial landscapes)
Outskied 3000 German troops
| For 400km to Sweden
52
What percentage of Norwayโs population live in rural settlements of less than 2000?๐ณ๐ด(value of glacial and periglacial landscapes)
57%
53
When was the Norsk Folkemuseum built?๐ณ๐ด(Value of glacial and periglacial landscapes)
1881
54
How many people visit the Alps each year? (Tourism and leisure)
120M ppl
55
When was Prudhoe Bay oilfield discovered and when did they start pumping from it? (Alaska)๐บ๐ธ
* Discovered - 1968
| * Pumping - 1977
56
How many barrels of oil are estimated to be trapped below the ground in Prudhoe Bay? (Alaska)๐บ๐ธ
25B
57
How many years does it take for plants to grow back in Alaska?๐บ๐ธ(fragile environments)
50 years
58
How many employees at Dead Horse Town, Prudhoe Bay?(Alaska)๐บ๐ธ
5,000 employees
59
On average, how many barrels are produced a day in Dead Horse Town, Prudhoe Bay?(Alaska)๐บ๐ธ
680,000 barrels
60
The US receives what percentage of its domestic oil from Prudhoe Bay?(Alaska)๐บ๐ธ
17%
61
How many barrels of crude oil have been produced so far in Dead Horse Town, Prudhoe Bay?(Alaska)๐บ๐ธ
Over 10B barrels of crude oil
62
In January 2011, how many gallons of oil leaked at the North Slope Pump Station?(Alaska)๐บ๐ธ
13,000 gallons of oil
63
How far does the oil get transported from Prudhoe Bay to Prince William Sound?(Alaska)๐บ๐ธ
1200km
64
How many rivers/streams does the pipeline cross?(Alaska)๐บ๐ธ
Over 800
| Including the Yukon
65
What is the equivalent to the amount of water France uses for artificial snow?๐ซ๐ท(Negative impacts of artificial snow)
Equivalent of a Town with 170,000 people
66
When did a glacial outburst flood destroy the Namche small hydro project in Sagarmatha?(threats from natural hazards)
1985
67
In 2015, what magnitude earthquake triggered several avalanches in Sagarmatha and how many were killed?(threats from natural hazards)
7.8
| At least 22 ppl
68
When did the Greenland government reverse the ban on uranium mining? (Threats from human activity)๐ฌ๐ฑ
2014
69
Whatโs the estimated cost to clean up Canadaโs abandoned arctic mines?๐จ๐ฆ
$500M
70
What percentage of all global forests are found in the arctic?
38%
71
How much did Canadaโs forest product exports contribute to the economy in 2003?๐จ๐ฆ (exploitation)
Can $39.6B
72
How much electricity is produced by the HEP station which uses 6 turbines on Snowdon?๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ (opportunities provided by glacial environments)
1,800MW
73
What percentage of the Asian population use meltwater from the Himalayas? (Opportunities provided by glacial environments)
40%
74
What percentage of Nepalโs natural forest remains?๐ณ๐ต(Threats to glaciated landscapes)
30%
Due to farming, firewood, construction
Causes loss of wildlife, exposure of soil, erosion, increased risk of landslides
75
How many tourists go to the Antarctic each year?๐ฆ๐ถ (threats from human activity)
40,000 tourists a year
| Peaked at 46,000 people
76
How many tourists go to the arctic each year? (Threats from human activity)
Doubled to 2 million since the 1990s
77
How many cruise ships visited Svalbard in 2015? (Threats from human activity)
Over 50 cruise ships
78
When did Russia claim part of the Arctic seabed in the North Pole? (Political disputes) (Threats from human activity)
2007
| Caused conflict with other arctic nations which have now staked own claims to sections of Arctic seabed
79
What is the name of the people in Yamal Peninsula, Russia?๐ท๐บ (Periglacial) (Threats from human activity)
Nenets
80
How many nomads does reindeer herding support and how many reindeer do they heard, Yamal Peninsula?๐ท๐บ(Periglacial) (Threats from human activity)
Over 10,000 nomads
| Over 300,000 reindeer
81
What percentage of pastures are owned by herders?๐ท๐บ(Periglacial) (Threats from human activity)
80%
82
What fraction of the worlds has reserves are in Yamal Peninsula, Russia?๐ท๐บ(Periglacial) (Threats from human activity)
1/4
83
In what decade did building infrastructure for gas destroy pasture, driving over grazing of tundra and disruption to migration routes?๐ท๐บ(Periglacial) (Threats from human activity)
1980s
84
How many reindeer herders have been evicted due to Gazproms plans to exploit gas?๐ท๐บ (Periglacial) (Threats from human activity)
160 herders
85
What percentage of total global ice mass does the Greenland Ice Sheet contain?๐ฌ๐ฑ (Threats from global warming)
Approximately 10%
86
By how much did the average rate of ice loss increase from 1992-2001 to 2002-2011 according to IPCC?๐ฌ๐ฑ (Threats from global warming)
* 1992-2001 - 34 gigatonnes/year
| * 2002-2011 - 214 gigatonnes/year
87
How much has the Greenland Ice sheet contributed to global mean sea level rise?๐ฌ๐ฑ (Threats from global warming)
0.33mm/year
88
When was the Antarctic treaty and how many signatory nations are on it?๐(Legislative frameworks) (Managing threats)
1961
| 53 signatory nations
89
When was the Alpine convention created?๐ (Legislative frameworks) (Managing threats)
1995
90
What does the Alpine convention aim to balance?๐ (Legislative frameworks) (Managing threats)
14M residents and
| 120M tourists per year
91
At what altitude can a pollution bloom be seen, trapped by prevailing south-westerly winds pressed against the Andes and sealed from above by the Hadley cell air current?๐จ๐ฑ(impact of human activity) (anthropogenic climate change)
4350m
92
How many vehicle and how many people are creating pollution in Santiago, Chile?๐จ๐ฑ (impact of human activity) (anthropogenic climate change)
4M vehicles
| 7M people
93
How much ice and how many glaciers are found in Chile?๐จ๐ฑ (impact of human activity) (anthropogenic climate change)
3% of nation is covered in ice
| 82% of continents glaciers are found in Chile
94
How many snow samples did Schmittโs American-Peruvian team filter whilst in situ on 15 different Cordillera Blanca peaks?๐จ๐ฑ (impact of human activity) (anthropogenic climate change)
800 snow samples
| Showed a strong positive correlation between a glaciers proximity to pollution and its contamination with black carbon
95
By how much have humans warmed the planet? (impact of human activity) (anthropogenic climate change)
By roughly 1 degree centigrade
| Pushes glaciers ELA higher
96
How much of Andean glaciers have been lost and how is black carbon having an impact?๐จ๐ฑ (impact of human activity) (anthropogenic climate change)
Approx 40% have been lost
| Black carbon is increasing melting speed by roughly 20%
97
How many fewer days of sea ice are there in Greenland?๐ฌ๐ฑ (impact of human activity) (anthropogenic climate change)
About 100
98
Facts about Emosson HEP scheme, Switzerland๐จ๐ญ
4 reservoirs
3 power stations
Generate 870 GWh each year
99
How many lorries and cars cross the Alps every year? (Human impact)
50M cars
| 12M lorries
100
What percentage of forests in Switzerland are suffering from acid rain, much caused by car pollution?๐จ๐ญ(human impact)
Believed to be 60%
