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GG282 > Glacier Terms/Definitions > Flashcards

Glacier Terms/Definitions Flashcards

1
Q

in a cirque basin on mountainside

A

cirque

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2
Q

glacier that is high on wall of glacier valley and does not extend down to the surface of the main glacier. avalanching and icefalls transfer snow and ice to the valley floor below

A

hanging glacier

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3
Q

dome-shaped glacier that is a miniature ice sheet, less than 50 000km2 in area. Mainly in Arctic and subarctic areas on high and fairly flat regions

A

ice cap

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4
Q

ice (snow) field

A

accumulation of ice (snow) covering a mountain basin or low-relief plateau to a substantial depth. it may feed a series of valley glaciers.

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5
Q

Large dome-shaped, subcontinental- to continental-scale glacier, more than 50 000 km2 in area

A

Ice sheet

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6
Q

ice sheet extending over the sea and floating on water. Range in thickness form a few hundred metres to over 1000m. they surround Antarctica, the largest being the Ross____ _____, covering over 500,000km2

A

ice shelf

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7
Q

a fan- or lobe-shaped glacier formed at the front of a mountain range where a glacier flows out of a valley and extends onto a plain

A

Piedmont Glacier

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8
Q

Glacier terminus, in a large lake or the sea, from which icebergs are calved

A

tidewater

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9
Q

A tongue of ice flowing within the walls of a mountain valley

A

Valley glacier (also called an alpine glacier or mountain glacier)

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10
Q

isolated peaks that project through the surface of ice sheets on the mountains of Baffin, Bylot, Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere Islands

A

nunataks

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11
Q

where more snow and ice is lost in the summer than is gained in the winter (1/2 main components of an active, moving glacier)

A

ablation zone

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12
Q

where more snow and ice is gained in the summer than is lost in the winter (1/2 main components of an active, moving glacier)

A

accumulation zone

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13
Q

ELA

A

Equilibrium Line Altitude

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14
Q

At this point (line), the snow and ice added in a balance year is exactly equal tot he amount that is lost

A

ELA - Equilibrium Line Altitude

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15
Q

the time between two successive annual minimums in the mass of the glacier, might not be 365 days

A

a balance year

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16
Q

Processes that play a significant role in accumulation (5)

A
  1. snowfall (mostly)
  2. rainfall freezing onto the ice surface
  3. condensation and freezing of saturated air
  4. refreezing of meltwater and slush
  5. avalanching
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17
Q

______ mountains with prevailing onshore winds have the highest rates of accumulation

A

Coastal mountains! Because WATER

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18
Q

_______ areas far from coastal influences have the lowest rates of accumulation

A

Arid! Because NO WATER!

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19
Q

what’s another word for ice loss?

A

Ablation

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20
Q

What are some ways that ablation can occur? (5)

A
  1. melting in temperate regions (mostly)
  2. evaporation
  3. wind and river erosion
  4. sublimation
  5. calving into lakes or the sea
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21
Q

_____ glaciers terminate in steep, and often high, ice cliffs, and are the most important means of ice loss in Antarctica and Greenland

A

Calving!

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22
Q

The ___ ____ zone occurs only in the most severe climactic environments in the interior of Antarctica and Greenland and on the highest mountains of Alaska and Yukon, where there is no melting.

A

The dry snow zone!

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23
Q

The ______ zone has water seeping downward, with latent heat released on refreezing raises the temperature of the surrounding snow to the pressure melting point.

A

The percolation zone! Water do be dripping.

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24
Q

What is the specific temperature at which ice melts under a given pressure?

A

The pressure melting point

25
Melting penetrates all the way to the base of the annual snow layer in the ______ zone, which is entirely at the pressure melting point.
Soaked zone!
26
What is 'snow that has survived one summer' called? It consists of loosely packed, randomly oriented ice crystals.
Firn
27
Glacial ice is impenetrable to ____ and ___ only exists as bubbles trapped within ice crystals
Water, air
28
Represents an accounting of the gains and losses of snow and ice that occur on a glacier in a balance year
A Glacial Mass Balance
29
The difference between the accumulation and the loss of snow/ice over a balance year at a SPECIFIC point on a glacier
specific mass balance
30
If a glacier is advancing, their mass balance is _____ (pos/neg)
positive! Accumulation-Ablation
31
If a glacier is retreating, their mass balance is _____ (pos/neg)
negative! Accumulation - ablation
32
Glaciers in advance will have ____ vertical fronts
STEEEEEP! She's sliding!
33
Glaciers in retreat will have ____ sloping snouts that are often partly buried under ____
gently, debris. She's MELTING!
34
What does a zero total net balance signify??
Stationary ice termini and equilibrium between gains and losses. This condition is rarely maintained for very long.
35
Most mass balances today are ____ (+/-)
negative! resulting in ice retreat and thinning
36
T/F: Because of the effect of shade and lower solar radiation in the accumulation zones, glaciers are generally most numerous and at lowest elevation on poleward-facing slopes, especially in the mid-latitudes.
True! slope orientation and aspect influences glacial mass balance. there is often a relationship between the number, elevation and sometimes the size and direction in which they face
37
There is a tendency for an ____ (N/E/S/W) aspect preference in most areas - attributed to the more effective melting that occurs in the afternoon
Easterly
38
What do ice cores contain? (3)
1. air bubbles 2. dust 3. ash ...and other material trapped in accumulating snow and ice
39
The clearest and longest records from ice cores come from the ____ Region
Polar region!
40
The longest ice core record, containing 800,000 years' worth of snowfall, was obtained in 2004 from the 3.2km deep core in Antarctica. NAME THAT CORE!
Dome C!
41
It is particularly difficult to obtain representative mass balance data from ice sheets because of their vast ____ and _______
size, remoteness
42
the slope of the line produced by plotting the specific mass balances along the length of a glacier against the elevation - they show how annual ablation and accumulation change with altitude on a glacier
the mass balance gradient! Gentle gradient = slow moving glaciers with small changes in specific mass balances with elevation Steep gradient = fast-moving glaciers in wet, mid-latitude regions
43
T/F: the temperature of the ice at the bottom of a glacier plays a crucial role in determining how the glacier erodes, transports and deposits material.
True!
44
T/F: 1g of water releases enough latent heat on freezing to raise the temperature of 160g of snow by 1°C
True!! Ouais!
45
Are ice temperatures affected by geothermal heat coming from within Earth and by heat generated by internal friction from differential ice movement (shear) and the flow of water?
Hell yeah they are
46
Where is cold ice usually found? Severe ____ climates.
Polar!
47
____ice: where snow accumulates at temperatures that are so low that there is little or no surface melting
Cold ice! Brr!
48
T/F: Warm ice contains water throughout its depth
true!
49
T/F: cold ice cannot contain liquid water and it's frozen to the bed
True!
50
T/F: Ice velocity and thickness increase from the head of a glacier down to the ELA, then decrease down to the terminus
True!
51
T/F: . Surface transverse velocities tend to be highest near the central axis of a glacier and to decrease toward the valley walls.
True! Like a meandering stream!
52
_____ is generated by the weight of the overlying ice, and is exerted equally in all directions. This INCREASES as we go DEEPER into the ice.
hydrostatic pressure
53
_____ is associated with the weight of the ice and the slope of the surface
sheer stress
54
is there more or less sheer stress if the glacier is THICKER?
more!
55
is there more or less sheer stress if the glacier is on a MORE GENTLE SLOPE?
Less!
56
is there more or less sheer stress of the glacier is on a STEEPER SLOPE?
more!
57
what's the calculation for sheer stress at some point on the base of the ice?
To = pi g h sinβ
58

GG282 (6 decks)

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