glaciers

Question 1

glacier

Answer 1

large mass of ice that has shown evidence of being in motion under the force of gravity

Question 2

two basic types of glaciers

Answer 2

valley glaciers and continental glaciers

Question 3

iceberg calving

Answer 3

glaciers terminate at ocean edge and masses of ice break off to form icebergs

Question 4

continental glacier

Answer 4

thick, slow moving sheet of ice that covers a large part of continent or other large land mass

Question 5

valley glacier

Answer 5

rivers of ice that occupy complete width of the valley and move downslope

Question 6

snow line

Answer 6

the elevation above which snow does not completely melt in the summer

Question 7

accumulation

Answer 7

the amount of ice added to the glacier annually - results in glacial growth

Question 8

ablation

Answer 8

the total amount of ice that a glacier loses annually - results in glacial shrinking

Question 9

4 mechanisms responsible for ablation

Answer 9

melting, iceberg calving, sublimation, wind erosion

Question 10

sublimation

Answer 10

water is transformed directly from solid state (ice) into its gaseous form (water vapour)

Question 11

glacial budget

Answer 11

accumulation minus ablation

Question 12

basal slip

Answer 12

the sliding of a glacier along the boundary between the ice and the ground

Question 13

plastic flow

Answer 13

the deformation of a glacier that results from the sum of all the small slips of ice crystals within it

Question 14

a surge

Answer 14

a sudden period of fast movement of a valley glacier

Question 15

striations

Answer 15

scratches/grooves on underlying bedrock as a glacier drags rocks over it

Question 16

cirque

Answer 16

an amphitheater like hollow at the head of the valley

Question 17

moraine

Answer 17

an accumulation of rocky, sandy and clayey material carried by glacial ice or deposited as till