Ice on the Land

Question 1

What is the El Nino effect?

Answer 1

a periodic blip in the usual climatic characteristics
caused by a short term reduction in the intensity of the cold ocean current that normally exists off the west coast of South America
resulting in unusual patterns of temp and rainfall and can lead to floods.

Question 2

What is the period we are in now called?

Answer 2

Holocene Period

Question 3

What was the last ice age called?

Answer 3

Pleistocene Period

2 million years

Question 4

How big is an ice sheet?

Answer 4

over 50,000 km squared

Question 5

How big is an ice cap?

Answer 5

under 50,000 km squared

Question 6

What is the world’s largest ice sheet?

Answer 6

Antarctica

Question 7

What is the balance between accumulation and ablation called?

Answer 7

glacial budget

Question 8

What is a positive glacial budget?

Answer 8

when accumulation dominates over ablation

Question 9

What is an example of a glacier (retreat since the 19th century)?

Answer 9

Athabasca Glacier

Question 10

Example of weathering?

Answer 10

Freeze Thaw

Question 11

Examples of erosion?

Answer 11

Abrasion - sand papering effect

Plucking

Question 12

How do glaciers move?

Answer 12

Rotational Slip - melted water helps to lubricate the glacier and in a curved hollow rotational slip happens
= slippage of ice along curved surface

Sheer weight of the ice cause individual crystals to deform in a plastic like way.

Question 13

Why does deposition occur?

Answer 13

mostly when the ice melts

mostly at the snout

Question 14

What is bulldozing?

Answer 14

an example of transportation

the pushing of deposited material at the snout of the glacier as it advances

Question 15

What is a hummock?

Answer 15

a small area of raised ground, rather like a large molehill

Question 16

How is a truncated spur formed?

Answer 16

an eroded interlocking spur characterised by having a very steep cliff

Question 17

What is moraine?

Answer 17

material transported then deposited by the ice

Question 18

Where is ground moraine?

Answer 18

material underneath the glacier

Question 19

Where is lateral moraine?

Answer 19

material at the sides of the glacier

Question 20

Where is medial moraine?

Answer 20

material running down the centre of the glacier

when two lateral moraines combine

Question 21

Where is terminal moraine?

Answer 21

material piled up at the end of the glacier showing the extent of the glacier’s advance

Question 22

What are drumlins?

Answer 22

smooth, egg shaped hills
about 10 m high 
few 100 m in length
stoss and lee end
lee end faces down the valley

Question 23

What is an avalanche?

Answer 23

masses of snow and ice moving rapidly usually in a mountainous environment

Question 24

What is a loose snow avalanche?

Answer 24

usually starts from one point

involves loose powdery snow

Question 25

What is a slab avalanche?

Answer 25

slab of ice and snow
shears away from main ice pack
(more deadly)

Question 26

What are the causes of avalanches?

Answer 26

heavy snowfall
steep slopes
heavy snowfall
temp rise
human factors (skiing off-piste)
tree removal

Question 27

Case study of an alpine area?

Answer 27

Chamonix

Question 28

how to manage avalanches?

Answer 28

• fences
• walls
• planting trees
• mounds of snow (breaking)