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Physical Geography - Structures > Glaciers- Overview > Flashcards

Glaciers- Overview Flashcards

1
Q

Mass Balance

A

This is the accumulation of snow fall measured against melting, evaporation or breakaway.

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2
Q

When do glaciers form?

A

When accumulation exceeds ablation.

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3
Q

What is required for formation?

A

Specific climate conditions

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4
Q

What are the two zones of the glacier?

A

Ablation and Accumulation, seperated by an equilibirum line.

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5
Q

What is the pathway of meltwater?

A

Deposits into sea, carving structures, depositing sands, silts and gravles.

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6
Q

What are the ways glacial movement occurs?

A

Sliding, Ice Deformation and deformation of the glacial bed.

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7
Q

What is rate of movement of a glacier dependent on?

A

Gravitational Forces
Resistance such as a drag of the bed

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8
Q

What are examples of indications of glacial presence?

A

Corries, troughs, drumlins and moraines.

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9
Q

What are the two major types of glaciers?

A

Ice Sheets
Ice Caps

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10
Q

Ice Sheets

A

These are marked as ice domes exceeding 50,000km^2

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11
Q

Ice Caps

A

High-latitude regions of a planet covered in ice.

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12
Q

Ice Dome

A

Where mass is radially distributed outwards acting as dispsersal centres

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13
Q

What are the two types of stream flow from a glacier?

A

Outlet Glaciers
Ice Streams

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14
Q

Features of Outlet glaciers and Ice Streams?

A

Both rapidly moving, chanelled ice radiating from the interiors of the ice sheets.

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15
Q

Outlet Glaciers

A

These occupy troughs of valleys being valley glaciers draining an inland sheet/cap flowing through a gap in peripheral mountians.

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16
Q

Ice Streams

A

These occur within ice sheets responsible for discharge of most the ice and sediment within, flanked by slowly moving ice.

17
Q

What are the types of glacier based on topography?

A

Valley Glaciers
Transection Glaciers
Cirque Glaciers
Piedmont
Niche

18
Q

How do valley glaciers form?

A

Ice discharge from cirques or ice fields in a deep bedrock valley.

19
Q

Transection Glaciers

A

These are large networks of interconnected valley glaciers flowing in different directions

20
Q

How much of the Earth is covered in glacier?

A

16million km^2, 13.5 in Antarcitca and 1.74 in Greenland

21
Q

What does glacier distribution vary with?

A

Altitude, latitude, distance from precipitaiton and temperature changes

22
Q

Why do higher altitudes have more glaciers?

A

Temperatures decrease with air density

23
Q

Equilibirum Line Altitude

A

This is the region on the glacier where accumulation equals ablation.

24
Q

Why is slope aspect important in glacial formation?

A

Differenetial relief of solar radiation and precipitaiton.

25
Q

What is an example of a structure without capacity to accumulate snow?

A

A narrow summit with steep sides.

26
Q

How much ice cover in peak of quarternary glaciations?

A

30%

27
Q

What factors influence glaciation PERIODS?

A

Gradual increase in solar luminosity(4BYA was 75% present value

28
Q

Faint-Sun Paradox

A

The sun was younger with less luminosity yet the climate as warm as it is today

29
Q

Why has the planet remained relatively stable in temperatures?

A

GHG regulation by tectonic movement and silicate weathering

30
Q

Effects of silicates on temperature?

A

Burial, where upwelling results in release by volcanic outgassing

31
Q

How does topography regualte climate?

A

Mountain chains and continents influence ocean and atmospheric circulation

32
Q

What is the milankovitch cycle dependent on?

A

Eccentricity
Obliquity
Precession

33
Q

Eccentricity

A

This is deviation of Earths orbital path from the shape of a circle on 100,000 year cycles.

34
Q

Obliquity

A

This is the planets plane of orbit spinning on an axis on the angle between orbital plane and spin axis(41,000 year cycles)

35
Q

Precession

A

This is the change in orientation of rotational axis of a rotating body(23,000 year cycles)

Physical Geography - Structures (10 decks)

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