Key Words

Question 1

Katabatic winds

Answer 1

cold mountains wind - the dense air flows down from the mountains to the lowlands chilling the grounds as it passes over.

Question 2

Insolation

Answer 2

incoming solar radiation, that is, heat received from the sun.

Question 3

Orographic rainfall

Answer 3

rain that is produced as air is forced to rise over ground such as mountain barrier, it subsequently cools, condensation occurs, and precipitation is produced.

Question 4

Striations

Answer 4

scratch marks on a rock caused by abrasion.

Question 5

Chatter marks

Answer 5

discontinuous scratch marks on a rock caused by abrasion.

Question 6

Roche montonnee

Answer 6

rock that has been plucked and made smooth by glaciers. Upstream side (stoss) is smooth due to abrasion, while the downstream slope (lee)is steeper and rougher due to plucking.

Question 7

Divergent flow

Answer 7

ice flow which is around an object rather than over it.

Question 8

Carbonation

Answer 8

a form of weathering in which calcium carbonate reacts with an acid water to form calcium biocarbonate which is soluble and removed in solution.

Question 9

Hydrolysis

Answer 9

a chemical weathering process where water reacts with minerals such as feldspars to produce clay minerals.

Question 10

Till

Answer 10

sediment is deposited by a glacier - unsorted, angular and of variable sized material, till refers to unsorted deposits with a wide range of grain size, deposited directly by the ice - whether on land or below a floating glacier - and not subsequently changed. Sometimes called moraine or boulder clay.

Question 11

Neve (firn)

Answer 11

a transnational stage between snow and ice. It has survived at least one summers melting, and has been compressed by snowfall the following winter.

Question 12

Extrusion flow

Answer 12

the movement of ice as a result of becoming too deep or heavy and therefore unstable. It ‘collapses’ and begins to flow outwards as a result of its own weight and pressure.

Question 13

Bergschrund

Answer 13

a large crack or crevasse.

Question 14

Randkluft

Answer 14

a gap between the rock face and ice in the hollow, caused when heat from the rock melts the ice.

Question 15

Pressure release

Answer 15

a type of weathering in which a rock is able to expand outwards as a result of the ‘unloading’ of weight (pressure) and as a result fractures or cracks appear in the rock as it expands.

Question 16

Spur

Answer 16

a projection of land from a ridge or mountain. Interlocking spurs occur in the upper course of the river valleys, where streams tend to follow winding courses. The projecting spurs appear to overlap or interlock. Truncated spurs are those which have been eroded in their lower parts by glaciers.

Question 17

Ribbon lakes

Answer 17

long, linear lakes which fill a glaciated trough such as lake Windermere in the Lake District.

Question 18

Hanging valleys

Answer 18

a small U-shaped valley formed by a small glacier that joins and hangs above a large U-shaped valley formed by a larger glacier.

Question 19

Scree

Answer 19

angular sediment that collects at the foot of a mountain range or cliff. The rock fragments that form scree are usually broken off by the action of freeze thaw weathering.

Question 20

Moraine

Answer 20

glacial deposits consisting of poorly sorted, often angular, loose rock fragments. Many forms exists including englacial, laterial, medial. recessional and terminal.

Question 21

Isostatic uplift

Answer 21

the rising of the land when the weight of a glacier has been removed as a result deglaciation (melting of glaciers)

Question 22

Col or spillway

Answer 22

a low point in a ridge or high ground often formed as a result of back to back cirques. Some may be formed by the movement of glacier ice from one valley into another and some by glacial diversion of drainage.

Question 23

Unstratified material

Answer 23

usually glacially deposited material which is unsorted, variable in size and has no distinct layers.

Question 24

Ablation

Answer 24

the removal of material (ice, debris) from a glacier such as by melting, evaporation, sublimation.

Question 25

moulins

Answer 25

a circular sink-hole or portal into a glacier. They may be caused by melt water entering a crevasse,

Question 26

Varved clays

Answer 26

a distinctive banded layer of silt and sand deposited in lakes near the margins of ice-sheets.

Question 27

Springmelt

Answer 27

the flooding that occurs in spring as a result of melting winter snow.

Question 28

Perennials

Answer 28

plants living for several years

Question 29

Net spring productivity

Answer 29

the rate of production of biomass that is available for consumption by herbivores - the next trophic level in the ecosystem.

Question 30

Podzol

Answer 30

light coloured soil found under coniferous forests and on moorlands in cool regions where rainfall exceeds evaporation. The constant downward movement of water leaches nutrients from the upper layers, making podzols poor agricultural soils. The leaching of minerals such as iron, calcium, and aluminium leads to formation of a bleached zone, often also depleted of clay. These minerals can accumulate lower down the soil profile to form a hard, impermeable layer which restricted the drainage of water down through the soil.