Physical Geography Glaciers Flashcards
When did the Quaternary Period start?
2.6 million years ago
When did the Holocene Period start?
10,000
In Earths history how many Ice Ages have their been?
5
During the Pleistocene Epoch how many glacial cycles were there?
50
What was the last Glacial advance called?
Lock Lomond Stadial
What is the layer of Ice on the Earth called?
Cryosphere
What are the 4 types of cold environment?
Polar, Alpine, Glacial and Periglacial
At what latitudes are Polar Environments found?
90 degrees N/S of the Equator
What is the temperaure in Polar Environments?
“-50 degrees C
What is the precipitation rate in Polar Environments?
250mm
What is an example of a Polar Environment?
Greenland
Where are Alpine Environments found?
At high latitudes
What are the average temperatures in Alpine Environments?
Summer - 20 degrees C Winter - 10 degrees C
What is an example of a Alpine Environment?
The Alps in France
What is the temperaure in Glacial Environments?
“-20 degrees C
What is an example of a Glacial Environment?
Russia
What is an example of a Periglacial Environment?
Cananda
What % of the Earth does Ice cover?
10%
How long does the Milancovic Cycle effect the climate for?
Thousands of Years
How long do Sun Spots effect the climate for?
Hundreds of Years
How long do Volcanoes and Asteriods effect the climate for?
10 Years
How many countries are Glaciers located on?
47
Give an example of a Cold Based Glacier?
Antartica
How fast do Cold Based Glaciers move?
2-3m per day
Give an example of a Warm Based Glacier?
The Alps
How fast do Warm Based Glaciers move?
20 - 30m per day
Give examples of inputs of a Glacier?
Precipitation, Avalanches
Give examples of stores in a Glacier?
Fresh water, Sediment
Give examples of outputs of a Glacier?
Melt Water, Evaporation, Calving, Sublimation
What % of the Earths surfacce is Periglacial?
25%
How deep can permafrost be?
1500m
When permafrost freezes, by what % does it expand by?
9-10%
By 2100 what % of Glaciers will be lost?
67%
What is a Corrie/Cwm?
An armchaired shaped depression in a mountainside- usually north facing
Give an example of a Corrie/Cwm?
Blae Water in the Lake District
What is an Arete?
A narrow, knife - edged ridge between two Corries
Give an example of an Arete?
Striding Edge in the Lake District which is 950m high
What is an Outwash Plain?
A flat expance of Fluvioglacial debray infrount of the glacier snout
Give an example of an Outwash Plain?
Melville Peninsular in Canada
What is an Esker?
A long, narrow sinous ridge of sand and gravel
Give an example of an Esker?
Sims Corner Eskers and Kames National Natural Landscape
What are the dimentions of Eskers?
30m high, and 100 - 500km long
What is a Meltwater Channel?
A narrow channel cut into bedrock or depostits either undernieth or along the frount of an Ice Margin
Give an example of a Meltwater channel and its dimentions?
Newtondale in Yorkshire and it is 40m wide and 80m deep
What is a Kettle Hole?
A circular depression often which is usually formed in a lake in a Outwash Plain
Give an example of a Kettle Hole?
Bareless Pond in Northlumbuland which is 0.11 long and 0.07 miles wide
What is a Kame?
A mound of sand and gravel deposited on the valey floor near to the glacier
What is a Kame Terrace?
A flat linear deposit of sand and gravel along the valley sides
Give an example of where Kame Terrace’s can be found?
Sims Corner Eskers and Kames National Natural Landscape
What is a Truncated Spur?
A steep rocky valley side where spurs of a river valley used to interlock before glaciation
What is Knock and Lochan?
A lowland area with alternating small rock hills, and hollows, often containg small lakes
Give an example of where Knock and Lochan can be found?
North West Highlands in the Outer Hebredies
What is a Pyramidal Peak?
A pointed mountain peak with three or more Corries
Give an example of a Pyramidal Peak?
The Matterhorn, which is 4478m high
Give 5 uses of the Cairngorms?
Hill Walking, Hunting, Forestry, Farming, Tourism
What is the latitude of the Cairngorms?
57.4? N
When was the Cairngorms National Park created?
2003
How big is the Cairngorms National Park?
1,748 square miles
What % of the Caingorms National Park is “wild land”?
47%
What % of the Caingorms National Park is protected by European Laws?
49%
How many people live and work in the Cairngorms?
18,000
What is the latitude of the Yamel Peninsula?
70?N
How deep is the permafrost on the Yamel Peninsula?
300m
What is the population of the Nenets on the Yamel Peninsula?
410,000
How far can the Nenets migrations be?
1000km each way
How many Reindeer are on the Yamel Penisula?
20,000
On the Yamel Peninsula how long is the Railway which has been built?
572m
What is the population of Caribou in Greenland in 1993, compared to in 2001?
1993 = 7000 - 9000 2001 = 140,000
What are the threats to glaciers in Greenland?
Soil Erosion, Trampling and Landslides
What is the population of Greenland?
56,000
What is the Active layer?
The top layer of siol in permafrost environmentss that thaws during summer, but freezes in the winter
What is Talik?
This is an area of unfrozen soil or rock
What are the 3 types of Permafrost?
Continious, Discontinious and Sporadic
When was the Kyoto Protocol introduced?
16th February 2005
What does the Kyoto Protocol do?
They want to reduce greenhouse gasses as well as removing Hydroflorocarbons to reduce deplation of the Ozone
When was the Antarctic Treaty signed?
1st December 1959
What does the Antartic Treaty do?
It believes that Antartica shall be used for a peaceful purposeas well as freedom from scientific investigation
How many countries are part of the Antarctic Treaty?
52
When was the Paris Agreement signed?
22nd April 2016
What does the Paris Agreement do?
Reduces greenhouse gasses and emmitions
How many countries signed the Paris Agreement?
142
How much did the Paris Agreement give the US for Climate Risk Insurance?
$420 million
How deep is Continuous Permafrost?
400m
How deep is Sporadic Permafrost?
10m
What is Accumalation?
This is the precipitation and growth of snow on the mountain
What is the Pressure Melting Point?
Due to the weight of the ice, the melting point decreases
What is Abrasion?
Angluar rocks that may be picked up by the glacier then cause striations
What is Rock Crushing?
When rocks are fractured due to the weight of the ice above it
What is an Extensional Flow?
When the ice flows over a steep gradient causing it to spead out and flow thinner
What is a Compressional Flow?
When the ice flows over a gental gradient causing it to clump together
What is Creep?
When the meltwater causes the glacier to flow around an obsticle like plastic
What is a surge?
When exessive meltwater builds up underneith the glacier, triggering a surge of movement
How fast do surges travel?
Up to 300m per day
What is the Zone of Accumulation?
Where the addition of snow from precipitation and avalanches exceeds the outputs
What is the Zone of Ablation?
Where the glacier melts, evaporates, sublimates or calves, meaning that the outputs exceeds the inputs
What is Internal Deformation?
When ice crystals orientate themselves in the direction of ice flow, allowing them so slide past each other
What is an Ice Shelf?
These are Ice Sheets which extend out into the sea
Give an example of an Ice Shelf?
Larsen Ice Shelf in Antartica
What is a Niche Glacier?
Patches of ice in gullies on North facing mountain slopes
What is a Piedmont Glacier?
When steep valley glaciers spill into flat plains where they spread into fan shapes
