Summer F Terms Flashcards
Learn all the key terms
Abrasion
Erosion caused by rocks and boulders in the base of a glacier acting like a giant file scratching and scraping the rocks below.
Arête
A sharp, knife-like ridge formed between two corries cutting back by processes of erosion and freeze thaw
Bulldozing
Ice pushes material of all shapes and sizes as it moves slowly forward.
Conservation
Managing the environment in order to preserve, protect or restore it.
Corrie
(Also called cirque) Armchair-shaped hollow in the mountainside formed by glacial erosion, rotational slip and freeze-thaw weathering. This is where the valley glacier begins. When the ice melts, it can leave a small circular lake called a tarn.
Drumlin
A hill made of glacial till deposited by a moving glacier, usually elongated or oval in shape, with the longer axis parallel to the former direction of ice.
Erratics
Rocks which have been transported and deposited by a glacier some distance from their source region.
Freeze-thaw weathering
(Also called frost-shattering) It occurs in cold climates when temperatures are often around freezing point and where exposed rocks contain many cracks. Water enters the cracks during the warmer day and freezes during the colder night. As the water turns into ice it expands and exerts pressure on the surrounding rock, causing pieces to break off.
Glacial trough
A river valley widens and deepens by the erosive action of glaciers; it becomes ‘U’ shaped instead of the ‘V’ shape of a river valley.
Hanging Valley
A tributary valley to the main glacier, too cold and high up for ice to be able to easily move. It therefore was not eroded as much as the lower main Valley, and today is often the site for a waterfall crashing several hundred metres the main valley floor.
Land use conflicts
Disagreements which arise when different users of the land do not agree on how it should be used.
Moraine
Frost-shattered rock debris and material eroded from the valley floor and sides, transported and deposited by glaciers.
Outwash
Material, chiefly sand or gravel, deposited by meltwater streams in front of, and underneath, a glacier. The material is sorted and rounded by water action.
Plucking
A type of erosion where melt water in the glacier freezes onto rocks, and as the ice moves forward it plucks or pulls out large pieces around the rock joints.
Pyramidal Peak
Where several corries cut back to meet at a central point, the mountain takes the form of a steep pyramid.
Ribbon lake
A long, narrow lake found in glaciated valleys formed in locations where the glacier had more erosive power, e.g. in areas of softer rock, where the valley gradient temporarily steepened or a tributary glacier joined the main valley.
Rotational slip
This occurs when the ice moves in a circular motion. This process can help to erode hollows in the landscape, and deepen hollows into bowl shapes.
Till
An unsorted mixture of sand, clay and boulders carried on by a glacier and deposited as ground moraine over a large area.
Truncated spur
A former river valley style which has been sliced off by a valley glacier, forming cliff-like edges.
Abiotic
Relating to non-living things
Biotic
Relating to living things
Consumer
Creature that eats animals and/or plant matter.
Decomposer
An organism such as a bacterium or fungus, that breaks down dead tissue, which is then recycled to the environment.
Ecosystem
A community of plants and animals that interact with each other and their physical environment.
Food chain
The connections between different organisms (plants and animals) that rely on one another as their source of food.
Food web
A complex hierarchy of plants and animals relying on each other for food.
Nutrient cycling
A set of processes whereby organisms extract minerals necessary for growth from soil or water, before passing them on through the food chain - and ultimately back to the soil and water.
Global ecosystem
Very large ecological areas on the earth’s surface (or biomes), with fauna and flora (animals and plants) adapting to their environment. Examples include tropical rainforest and hot desert.
Producer
An organism that is able to absorb energy from the sun through photosynthesis.
Biodiversity
The variety of life in the world or a particular habitat.
Commercial farming
Farming to sell produce for a profit to retailers or food processing companies
Deforestation
The chopping down and removal of trees to clear an area of forest.
Logging
The business of cutting down trees and transporting the logs to sawmills
Mineral extraction
The removal of solid mineral resources from the earth. These resources include ores, which contain commercially valuable amounts of metals, such as iron and aluminium; precious stones, such as diamonds; building stones, such as granite; and solid fuels, such as coal and oil shale
Soil Erosion
Removal of topsoil faster than it can be replaced, due to natural (water and wind action), animal, and human activity. Topsoil is the top layer of soil and is the most fertile because it contains the most organic, nutrient- rich materials.
Subsistence farming
A type of agriculture producing food and materials for the benefit of only the farmer and his family.
What is left behind after glacial abrasion?
‘Striations’ - scratches on the rock.
What is left behind after glacial plucking takes place?
‘Chatter marks’ or ‘crescentic gouges’ - gouges on the rock.
