Keywords For Glaciation Flashcards
What is névé/firn?
Granular snow consisting of low density ice crystals
What is sensible heat?
The amount of energy that occurs when an object is heated
What is sublimation?
The transition of ice to water vapour without the liquid stage
What is accumulation?
The addition of snow to a glacier
What is an accumulation zone?
An area of net gain in a glacier
What is ablation?
The natural removal of ice from a glacier
What is an ablation zone?
The net area of loss in a glacier
What is paleoclimatic?
Climatic conditions in the geological past reconstructed from a data source
What is a thermohaline system?
Part of the ocean circulation caused by different water densities due to salinity and temperature
What are ice lenses?
Formed when moisture, diffused by soil or rock, accumulates
What is cryohydration?
Individual particles in the soil are split as a result of freezing and contracting of water on the surface of the mineral particle
What is extensional flow?
Ice moving faster at the front resulting in crevasses
What is compressional flow?
Ice moving slower at the front resulting in the build up of ice
What are striations?
Caused by large rocks cutting grooves in bed rock
What is nivation/bergschrund?
The erosion of the ground and sides of a hollow as a result of continued freeze-thaw
