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Ice in the UK Flashcards

1
Q

What is Paleoclimatology?

A

The study of past climates using proxies such as ice cores, tree rings, and sediment cores.

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2
Q

What are climate proxies?

A

Imprints created during past climates, such as ice cores, tree rings, and sediment cores.

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3
Q

How many ice ages have occurred in the last 800,000 years?

A

Eight ice ages, with the last one ending about 11,700 years ago.

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4
Q

What are the key climatic features of the Quaternary period?

A
  • Began 2.6 million years ago
  • Characterized by cycles of glacial and interglacial periods, with repeated ice ages.
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5
Q

What are the key climatic features of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)?

A
  • Occurred around 56 million years ago
  • Marked by a sudden spike in global temperatures due to massive carbon emissions, likely from volcanic activity and methane release.
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6
Q

What are the key climatic features of the Cretaceous period?

A
  • 145–66 million years ago
  • A warm period with high CO₂ levels, ice-free poles, and abundant vegetation
  • Ended with a mass extinction event.
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7
Q

What are the Milankovitch Cycles?

A

Changes in Earth’s orbit, tilt, and axial wobble affecting climate over thousands of years.

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8
Q

How do Milankovitch Cycles impact climate?

A

They influence glacial and interglacial periods by altering solar radiation received by Earth.

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9
Q

How does Earth’s orbit affect climate?

A

When Earth’s orbit is more elliptical, temperature variations increase due to changes in solar radiation.

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10
Q

What is eccentricity in Earth’s orbit?

A

A measure of how much Earth’s orbit deviates from a perfect circle, influencing solar radiation received.

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11
Q

What is obliquity, and how does it impact climate?

A

The tilt of Earth’s axis; greater tilt causes more extreme seasons, influencing glaciation and ice sheet growth.

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12
Q

How does axial precession affect Earth’s climate?

A

Changes in the timing of seasons and temperature variations due to the wobble of Earth’s axis.

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13
Q

What is a feedback loop in climate science?

A

A process that either accelerates (positive) or slows down (negative) a warming trend.

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14
Q

What are sunspots?

A

Cooler, dark areas on the Sun’s surface caused by strong magnetic fields, influencing solar activity.

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15
Q

How does sunspot activity affect climate?

A

Periods of high sunspot activity increase temperatures, while low activity can contribute to cooling.

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16
Q

How do volcanic eruptions impact climate?

A

Sulphur dioxide converts into sulphate aerosols, reflecting sunlight and cooling the atmosphere.

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17
Q

What was the climate impact of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption?

A

Cooled Earth’s surface by up to 1.3°F for three years due to a massive sulphur dioxide cloud.

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18
Q

How does atmospheric dust influence climate?

A

Volcanic ash and desert dust can block sunlight, causing temporary cooling.

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19
Q

What is the natural greenhouse effect?

A

A process where greenhouse gases trap heat, keeping Earth warm enough to support life.

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20
Q

What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?

A

Human activities increase greenhouse gases, trapping excess heat and causing global warming.

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21
Q

How does burning fossil fuels contribute to climate change?

A

Releases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, trapping heat in the atmosphere.

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22
Q

What greenhouse gases are emitted by burning fossil fuels?

A

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrous oxide (N₂O).

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23
Q

How does agriculture contribute to greenhouse gas emissions?

A

Manure releases methane, fertilizers release nitrous oxide, and land-use changes emit CO₂.

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24
Q

Why does livestock farming increase methane emissions?

A

Cows and other ruminants produce methane during digestion.

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25
How does deforestation impact climate change?
Reduces carbon absorption and releases stored CO₂, increasing greenhouse gas levels.
26
What greenhouse gases are emitted by agriculture?
Methane (CH₄) from livestock and nitrous oxide (N₂O) from fertilizers.
27
What greenhouse gases are emitted by deforestation?
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) from tree burning and decomposition.
28
What are fossil fuels?
Energy sources formed from ancient organic matter, including coal, oil, and gas.
29
How does using fossil fuels affect air quality?
Releases pollutants like sulphur dioxide, contributing to acid rain and respiratory issues.
30
What is the British-Irish Ice Sheet?
Ice sheets that covered Britain and Ireland at various times during the Quaternary Period.
31
What were the three major ice sheets in Britain?
The Anglian (478,000–424,000 years ago), the Wolstonian (300,000–130,000 years ago), and the Devensian (27,000 years ago).
32
What was Doggerland?
A land bridge between Britain and Europe that was submerged as glaciers melted.
33
How did glaciation shape the UK landscape?
Glaciers carved valleys, deposited moraine, and created features like the Fens.
34
What is a glacier?
A mass of ice and snow that moves over land, eroding and shaping landscapes.
35
What is plucking in glacial erosion?
Ice freezes onto rocks, pulling them away as the glacier moves.
36
What is abrasion in glacial erosion?
Sediment embedded in ice scrapes against bedrock, wearing it down.
37
What is freeze-thaw weathering?
Water enters cracks, freezes, expands, and breaks rocks apart.
38
What is sub-glacial transportation?
Sediment transported at the base of a glacier.
39
What is supra-glacial transportation?
Sediment transported along the glacier's surface.
40
What is englacial transportation?
Sediment transported within the body of a glacier.
41
What is internal deformation in a glacier?
Pressure causes ice crystals to shift, allowing the glacier to flow.
42
What is basal sliding in glacial movement?
Pressure and friction create a thin water layer, lubricating the glacier's movement.
43
How is a corrie formed?
Snow accumulates in a hollow, compresses into ice, and erodes a deep basin with a steep back wall.
44
What is a pyramidal peak?
A sharp mountain peak formed by erosion from three or more glaciers.
45
How is a pyramidal peak formed?
Glaciers erode back towards each other, steepening the peak through plucking, abrasion, and freeze-thaw weathering.
46
What is an arête?
A narrow ridge between two corries formed by glacial erosion.
47
How is an arête formed?
Two glaciers erode opposite sides of a mountain, steepening the ridge between them.
48
What is a U-shaped valley?
A valley widened and deepened by glaciers, transitioning from a V-shape to a U-shape.
49
How is a U-shaped valley formed?
A glacier erodes the valley floor and sides through plucking and abrasion.
50
What is a hanging valley?
A smaller valley left high above a main U-shaped valley after glaciation.
51
How is a hanging valley formed?
A smaller glacier joins a larger glacier, eroding less deeply, leaving it suspended above the main valley.
52
What is a truncated spur?
A former river valley spur cut off by glacial erosion.
53
How is a truncated spur formed?
A glacier bulldozes through interlocking spurs, cutting them off to form steep valley sides.
54
What is a ribbon lake?
A long, narrow lake found in a glacial trough where softer rock was eroded more deeply.
55
How is a ribbon lake formed?
A glacier carves a deeper trough in softer rock, which fills with water after glacial retreat.
56
What is a tarn?
A mountain lake formed in a corrie after a glacier melts.
57
How is a tarn formed?
A glacier erodes a hollow in a mountainside, which fills with meltwater after the glacier retreats.
58
What is a drumlin?
A large hill-sized oval mound, typically found in clusters known as 'drumlin swarms'.
59
How are drumlins formed?
1. Glaciers drop their basal debris load due to friction between the ice and the underlying geology. 2. As the glacier continues to advance, it narrows and straightens the deposited material, creating a drumlin.
60
What is a drumlin swarm?
A group or cluster of drumlins found in the same area.
61
What causes glaciers to drop their basal debris load?
Friction between the ice and the underlying geology.
62
How does a glacier shape a drumlin after depositing material?
The glacier advances around the mound, narrowing and straightening it into the characteristic drumlin shape.
63
What is a moraine?
A fragment of rock transported by a glacier and deposited when the glacier melts.
64
When are moraines deposited by a glacier?
When the glacier melts and releases the debris it carried.
65
What are the four types of moraines?
Terminal, lateral, medial, and ground moraines.
66
What is the difference between terminal, lateral, medial, and ground moraines?
Each type of moraine is formed in a different position relative to the glacier: terminal at the end, lateral along the sides, medial in the middle where two glaciers meet, and ground beneath the glacier.

Geography (2 decks)

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