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Geography > P1 - Unit 1C - Glacial Landscapes in the UK > Flashcards

P1 - Unit 1C - Glacial Landscapes in the UK Flashcards

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1
Q

In the last ice age how far did ice spread over the British isles?

A

Ice spread over the British isles as far as the Severn estuary, the southern parts of Britain experienced tundra conditions

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2
Q

Define glacial:

A

A cold period of ice advance where average global temperatures decreased to around 11°C

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3
Q

Define interglacial:

A

A warm period of ice retreat where average global temperatures increase to around 15°C

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4
Q

Define ice sheet:

A

An ice sheet is a large mass of ice covering a vast area of land

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5
Q

Define glacier:

A

A glacier is when ice moves downhill under the force of gravity.

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6
Q

What are the three stages of the formation of glacial ice?

A
  • snow
  • neve/firn
  • glacial ice
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7
Q

What happens in the snow stage of the formation of glacial ice?

A

When snow falls it is dry, fluffy and crystalline in structure. Air is trapped between the flakes.

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8
Q

What happens in the neve/firm stage of the formation of glacial ice?

A

As the snow accumulates, the lower layers become compacted. This denser form is halfway between snow and glacial ice.

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9
Q

What happens at the glacial ice stage of the formation of glacial ice?

A

As the weight of overlying snow and firn increases with successive snowfalls, air is pushed out of the mass of ice until it becomes solid ice and turns a bluefish colour.
When the glacier becomes a solid mass of ice it begins to flow down hill under gravity because it’s a denser and consequently heavier mass.

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10
Q

What speeds up the process of glacial ice formation?

A

Meltwater speeds up the formation as it percolates through air passages between crystals and refreezes making the ice denser

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11
Q

What slows down the process of glacial ice formation?

A

When it it colder because there is no meltwater when it is colder
Where there is no summer

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12
Q

What’s the difference between an ice sheet and a glacier?

A

An ice sheet is a huge mass of ice covering a vast area of land (e.g. Greenland) whereas a glacier is when ice moves downhill under the force of gravity.

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13
Q

From the start of a glacier what are the different parts?

A 
Snowfield
Corrie
Crevasse
Ground moraine(below)
Snout
Terminal moraine
Melt water stream
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14
Q

What are the inputs of glaciers?

A

Precipitation
Avalanches
Rock debris

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15
Q

What are the glacial stores in a glacier?

A

Snow
Ice
Sediment

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16
Q

What are the outputs of a glacier?

A 
Rock debris (moraine)
Meltwater
Ice (calving)
Evaporation
Sublimation (water solid to water vapour)
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17
Q

Define the zone of accumulation:

A

The upper part of a glacier, where inputs exceed outputs.
Glaciers accumulate mass from snowfall and by avalanching snow, therefore mass is gained here over the year as snow is converted to glacial ice.

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18
Q

Define the zone of ablation:

A

The lower part of a glacier, where outputs exceeds inputs.
At lower altitudes temperatures are higher and there is less snowfall. Glaciers ablate mass by melting or by calving into icebergs.

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19
Q

Define the line of equilibrium:

A

An imaginary line can be drawn across the glacier where accumulation is balanced by ablation. Here there is no net gain or net loss. Above the line there is net accumulation and below it net ablation.

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20
Q

Define glacial budget:

A

Is the difference between the accumulation and ablation each year.

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21
Q

What happens to the glacial budget in colder times?

A
  • the ice mass thickens as accumulation > ablation
  • the glacier will flow down the valley
  • the ice front will advance and erosion will increase
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22
Q

What happens to glacial budget in warmer times?

A
  • ablation > accumulation and the ice will become thinner
  • movement will slow down and the ice will retreat
  • the glacier will have less energy for erosion and transportation and will deposit as it recedes
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23
Q

What is the process of weathering that goes on in cold environments?

A

Freeze thaw/frost shattering weathering

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24
Q

What is freeze thaw weathering?

A
  • water seeps into cracks in the rocks
  • when the temperature falls at night the water freezes and expands which puts pressure on the rock causing the crack to widen
  • during the day the ice melts more so water can fill the now expanded cracks and the cycle repeats
  • over time this causes large rocks to be shattered into smaller pieces
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25
Q

What factors effect freeze thaw weathering?

A
  • the frequency of temperature fluctuations around 0°C
  • the rock type
  • the amount of water present
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26
Q

What is moraine in a glacial area called?

A

Scree

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27
Q

What are the four main types of processes which glaciers have?

A

Erosion -erosion of rock by the direct action of moving glaciers
Transportation-movement of debris
Deposition-occurs when rock debris is deposited
Glaciofluvial activity- erosion, transportation, deposition cause by meltwater streams

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28
Q

What are the main two types of glacial erosion?

A

Abrasion

Plucking

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29
Q

What does abrasion produce?

A

Abrasion produces smoothened landforms

Abrasion produces flour which makes meltwater streams milky

30
Q

What does plucking produce?

A

Plucking produces jagged and irregular shape surfaces/landforms

31
Q

Describe the process of abrasion:

A

Abrasion is when material carried by a glacier rubs against and wears away the sides and floor of the valley.

32
Q

What are striations formed by?

A

Abrasion can leave scratches on smooth rock surfaces showing the direction of ice flow

33
Q

Describe the process of plucking:

A

Plucking is where the glacier freezes onto and around rock outcrops, then as ice moves down the valley it pulls away blocks of rock

34
Q

What is glaciofluvial activity?

A

The streams of meltwater that flow along the base of the glacier erode rock through the combination of abrasion, hydraulic action, attrition and solution
-water at the base of a glacier is pressured by the weight of ice above,this causes meltwater streams to flow much faster, which increases the erosive power of the water

35
Q

Describe glacial transport:

A

Rock debris from transported by a glacier is called moraine.

  • medial moraine(centre of glacier)
  • lateral moraine(sides)
  • terminal moraine(front of glacier)
  • ground moraine(underneath)
  • some material is transported inside the glacier
36
Q

Describe glacial movement:

A

Rotational slip- hollows high up on the valley sides, this movement may be more curved
Bulldozes- the snow of a glacier bulldozes material

37
Q

Describe glacial deposition:

A

Most deposition occurs when ice melts (moraine is deposited)
Moraine is often angular and unsorted
Terminal moraine, lateral moraine,ground moraine,medial moraine

38
Q

Describe a Corrie:

A

Carries are large amphitheatre or armchair shaped holllowed-out depressions found on the upper slopes of glaciated valleys.

39
Q

What are the characteristics of a Corrie?

A
  • steep back wall
  • over-deepened basin floor
  • raised lip at the front
  • MAY CONTAIN A LAKE CALLED A TARN
40
Q

How is a Corrie formed?

A
  • on northern slopes there’s an accumulation snow in a freeze-thaw weathering which supplies loose rock which the glacier can use to erode the hollow
  • water also seeps down the back wall,,, which increases the amount freeze thaw
  • plucking also increases on the back wall
  • loose rocks from freeze thaw and plucking are embedded into the ice and hollows out the Corrie by abrasion
  • rotational slip scoops out an over deepened hollow
41
Q

When does a tarn form?

A

When the ice has melted, the Corrie provides an ideal place for a tarn form. The rock lip acts as a natural dam to stop the water flowing away

42
Q

How is an arête formed?

A

Progressive back wall erosion may eventually progress to the point where two adjacent back walls off Corrie are only separated by a narrow ridge called an arête
-freeze-thaw weathering will make the ridge even sharper

43
Q

Describe an arête:

A

An arête is a narrow, rocky and steep sided knife edge ridge.

44
Q

Describe a pyramidal peak:

A

A pyramidal peak is a steep sided isolated mountain summit which is shaped like a pyramid, it has cliff walls and several arêtes that radiate out from the peak

45
Q

How are pyramidal peaks formed?

A

Pyramidal peaks are formed when three or more corries are found back to back, forming a triangular shaped peak
-sides are weathered by frost shattering, Corrie back walls eroded by plucking, hollows are deepened by abrasion

46
Q

Describe a glacial trough:

A

A valley with a u shaped cross section, steep sided, flat floored
(E.g. Great langdale valley, Lake District)

47
Q

What causes over deepening in a glacial trough?

A
  • extending/compressing flow
  • confluence of two glaciers
  • rock type (softer rock erodes more easily than hard rock)
48
Q

What are features in a glacial trough?

A

Ribbon lakes
Truncated spurs
Hanging valleys

49
Q

Describe a ribbon lake:

A

A long, narrow lake found at the bottom of a glacial trough

50
Q

How are ribbon lakes formed?

A

-some areas of the valley are prone to increased erosion(downcutting), at the end of a glacial period, water may occupy this deepened section to form a ribbon lake

51
Q

Describe a truncated spur:

A

A truncated spur is a steep slope that runs alongside the valley floor/lake

52
Q

How are truncated spurs formed?

A

Glaciers are unable to weave like rivers because they are solid ice, so they bulldoze material with the help of abrasion and plucking, which cuts off interlocking spurs which leaves truncated spurs

53
Q

Describe a hanging valley:

A

It’s a tributary glacial trough perched up on the side of the main valley, often marked by a waterfall.

54
Q

How are hanging valleys formed?

A

Tributary glaciers have less erosive power than the main valley glacier as they have less ice in them so the tributary valley isn’t depend out as much as the main trough, when the ice melts it revealed a higher tributary valley floor than the main trough

55
Q

How is a glacial trough formed?

A
  • before the ice age the valley was v shaped , with a river flowing
  • during an ice age abrasion makes the valley floor deeper and wider, valley sides become steeper by plucking
  • after an ice age the ice melts and reveals the carved out u-shaped valley
56
Q

Define moraine:

A

Moraine is the general term given to the angular rock material transported and then dropped by a glacier

57
Q

Define till/boulder clay:

A

Till is an extensive thick blanket of an unsorted mixture of rocks,sands and clays

58
Q

What is recessional and push moraine?

A

Recessional moraines-As a glacier retreats, it is possible for a series of moraines to be formed along the length of t he valley
Push moraine-a previous deposited moraine may be bulldozed forward when a glacier advances

59
Q

Describe erratics:

A

Erratics are boulders picked up by the ice for many kilometres and are then deposited in areas of completely different geology, they are ex-situ

60
Q

Describe drumlins:

A

Drumlins are smooth, egg shaped hills commonly about 10m high and up to a few hundred metres in length, which often occur in clusters on the floor of a glacial trough

61
Q

How are drumlins formed?

A

When a glacier becomes overloaded with material, deposition occurs the till is then mounded and streamlined by the later ice advance

62
Q

How do drumlins show direction of ice flow?

A

The more pointed end is in the direction that the glacier was flowing

63
Q

Why is is it difficult to farm crops in glaciated upland areas?

A

Steep slopes-tractors can’t go up steep slopes
Thin soils with limited fertility-doesn’t have enough nutrients for crops
Low temperatures at high altitudes
Heavy relief rainfall-soil gets waterlogged

64
Q

What opportunities do glaciated areas provide?

A
  • extensive agriculture such as animal grazing(sheep)
  • commercial forestry(coniferous trees can cope with thin soils and low temperatures)
  • tourism(glaciation sharpened up the landscape)
  • quarrying(low population means there are fewer dangers)
65
Q

What is land used for in glaciated upland areas?

A 
Military training 
Reservoirs
Wind turbines
Hunting
Forestry conifer plantations
66
Q

How can development and conservation needs be balanced?

A

-maximum visitor numbers
-signing
Seasonal closure(give sights a chance to recover)
Restricted activities(to minimise damage to the land from campers, bikes and horses)

67
Q

What’s our case study for a glaciated upland area?

A

Snowdonia national park in the north west of wales

68
Q

Why do people visit snowdonia?

A

Mountain landscape(walking, climbing, mountain biking)
Ribbon lakes(water sports, fishing, boat cruise)
Waterfalls(swallow falls)
Scenic market towns
First hydro-electric power station in wales

69
Q

What are the environmental impacts of tourism on snowdonia?

A

Congestion on roads leads to air pollution
Footpath erosion from walkers
Littering

70
Q

What are the social impacts of tourism in snowdonia?

A

Noise pollution in honey pot sites

Second homes being bought leads to a rise in house prices

71
Q

What are the economic impacts of tourism in snowdonia?

A

Tourism provides jobs

Tourism jobs are often seasonal and low payed

72
Q

What are management schemes for tourism in snowdonia?

A 
Snowdonia tidy(reduction of litter)
Snowdonia sherpa(bus service to reduce the number of cars)
Park and ride schemes(reduce congestion)

Geography (14 decks)

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