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EAS 100 > Chapter 9 - The Cryosphere > Flashcards

Chapter 9 - The Cryosphere Flashcards

1
Q

What is the cryosphere?

A

the part of Earth’s surface that remains parentally frozen is the cryosphere.

  • sea ice
  • glaciers (10% of earth’s land surface)
  • frozen ground ( 20% of Earth’s land)
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2
Q

What is snow?

A

Snow is precipitation that consists of solid H2O in crystalline form. It results from the condensation and crystallization of tiny water droplets into feathery ice crystals at very low temperatures in clouds.

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3
Q

What is ice?

A

Ice is a solid form of H2O.

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4
Q

What is glacier ice?

A

Glacier ice forms by the accumulation, compression, and recrystallization of snow, but some ice crystallizes directly from water in the atmosphere and falls is icy precipitation.

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5
Q

Describe the process of “ from snow to ice” (snowflake)

A

As a snowflake is slowly converted into a granule of old snow and eventually into glacial ice, melting and evaporation because it’s delicate points to disappear. The resulting meltwater re-freezes, and vapour condenses near the centre of the crystal, making it denser and less porous.

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6
Q

In ________ _________ annual snowfall is very _____ because the air is too ______ to hold ___________. This is referred to as: ______ ___________.

A

polar regions, low, too cold, moisture, polar deserts

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7
Q

What is the snowline?

A

The lower limit of perennial snow as the snow line

  • its shape is controlled by variations in thickness of winter snowpack and local topography
  • altitude typically changes from year to year dependent on winter snow accumulation and summer melting.
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8
Q

What is a glacier?

A

When snow and ice become so sick that the pull of gravity causes the frozen mass to move, this is a glacier.

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9
Q

Glacier ice is considered a rock

true or false

A

True

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10
Q

Why would a glacier advance or retreat?

A

A glacier’s advance or retreat is the balance of the amount of snow and ice added (accumulation) and lost (ablation)

  • upper zone is the accumulation area
  • below this zone is the ablation area
  • between these is the equilibrium line
  • the front of the glacier is called the terminus
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11
Q

Describe basal sliding

A

Melt water at the base acts as a lubricant

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12
Q

What is frontal calving?

A

Coastal glacier retreat is characterized by frontal calving.

  • where the terminus is in deep water
  • front brakes off to form icebergs
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13
Q

What is more dense ice or water?

A

Water has a higher density than ice

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14
Q

The earth fluctuates between periods of extended cooler and warmer temperatures leading to either glaciations or interglacials. describe both

A

Glaciations: glaciers expand, and new ones form

interglacials: ice sheets retreat, sea level rises

we are currently in an interglacial period

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15
Q

Which of the following glacial features cannot be used to determine the direction of ice movement?

a. Boulder trains
b. striations
c. drumlins
d. loess

A

d. loess

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16
Q

Where the earth’s large ice sheets now exist?

a. Greenland and Antarctica
b. Antarctica and Asia
c. Canada and Greenland
d. Greenland and Asia

A

a. Greenland and Antarctica

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17
Q

Glaciers generally develop below sea level in the polar regions

true or false

A

False

18
Q

What is the typical crystal structure of snow?

a. Hexagonal
b. Pentagonal
c. octagonal
d. tetrahedral

A

a. hexagonal

19
Q

If you were to analyze a deep ice core, what would expect to be the relative sizes of the ice crystals that make up the core? Start from the top layer and work your way down to the bottom layer

a. Large, medium, small
b. small, medium, large
c. medium, small, large
d. large, small, medium

A

b. Small, medium, large

20
Q

Solifluction is a common mass wasting process in which waterlogged regolith in a thawed, active layer moves slowly downslope

True or false

A

True

21
Q

What is the highest point called at which a glaciers winter snow cover is lost during a given season?

a. Equilibrium line
b. tree line
c. frost line
d. boundary line
e. snow line

A

e.Snowline

22
Q

The huge continental ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica contain about 95% of existing glacial ice

True or false

A

True

23
Q

Where does the medial Moraine develop?

a. At the top of the glacier
b. near the bottom of the glacier
c. on the side of a glacier
d. in the middle of two coalesced glaciers

A

d. in the middle of two coalesced glaciers

24
Q

Where would one find the equilibrium line on a glacier?

a. The point where net mass loss is greater than net mass gain
b. the point where net mass loss is less than net mass gain
c. the point where net mass loss equals net mass gain

A

c. the point where net mass loss equals net mass gain

25
Q

The rate of accumulation is _____________ the rate of abalation, a glacier will advance from a source area

a. less than
b. much less than
c. equal to
d. greater than

A

d.Greater than

26
Q

What are large boulders deposited by glaciers called?

a. erratics
b. moraines
c. Loess
d. drumlins

A

a. Erratics

27
Q

As you go from lower to higher latitudes either north or south of the equator, the altitude of the snowline should

a. need more information
b. stay the same
c. decrease
d. increase

A

c.Decrease

28
Q

The map device that a glacier loses is greater than the amount of snow against, it will

a. stay motionless
b. advance
c. retreat
d. search

A

c.Retreat

29
Q

Till is a glacial sediment that occurs in unsorted and on stratified deposit

True or false

A

True

30
Q

The North Pole is located in the Antarctic continent, covered by a vast, thick ice sheet

true or false

A

False

31
Q

During the most recent Ice Age, about what percentage of the Earth’s land area was covered by glaciers?

a. 20%
b. 50%
c. 70%
d. 30%

A

d.30%

32
Q

What is frontal calving, with regard to glaciers?

a. breaking off of icebergs from the back of a glacier that terminates in deep water
b. breaking off of icebergs from the front of a glacier that terminates in deep water
c. breaking off of icebergs from the back of a glacier that terminates in shallow water
d. breaking off of icebergs from the front of a glacier that terminates in shallow water

A

b. breaking off of icebergs from the front of a glacier that terminates in deep water

33
Q

Icebergs float with most of their volume above the surface of the sea

true or false

A

False

34
Q

The zone of accumulation is generally characterized by

a. striations
b. thick sediment
c. the thickest development of glacial ice
d. abalation

A

c. the thickest development of glacial ice

35
Q

Ice ___________ a mineral and snow _____________ a mineral

a. is; is not
b. is not; is
c. is; is
d. is not; is not

A

c. is; is

36
Q

Which of the following statements is not true about the snow and ice?

a. are minerals
b. have crystalline structure
c. hexagon on crystal form
d. formed from supercooled water

A

d. Form from supercooled water

37
Q

Which of the following facts about Pleistocene glaciations is most relevant to human migration into North America?

–Interglacial/glacial cycles lasted approximately 100,000 years

–Drop in global sea levels exposing land bridges

–The maximum of the most recent glacial cycle was 24,000 years ago

–The Holocene optimum occurred 6000–7000 years ago

–There were more than 30 major interglacial/glacial cycles

A

–Drop in global sea levels exposing land bridges

38
Q

. What is the navigational significance of the Northwest Passage?

–Allows ships from the Northwest United States to reach Asia more quickly

–Allows ships from Europe to reach India more quickly

–Allows ships from Europe to reach Asia more quickly

–Allows ships from the Northeast United States to reach Africa more quickly

–Allows ships from the Northeast United States to reach India more quickly

A

–Allows ships from Europe to reach Asia more quickly

39
Q

Which of the following is not an impact of global warming?

–More ships may get caught in ice flows

–More regions would be opened up to oil exploration

–Ships would be able to travel freely through the Northwest Passage without ice breakers

–More area will be available and open to research

A

–More ships may get caught in ice flows

40
Q

Which of the following is a drawback of oil exploration in the Northwest Passage?

–There is little demand for additional oil

–The costs to bring oil from the Northwest Passage to oil markets would be too high

–In the future, we predict more sea ice cover that would impede exploration

–Oil spills in cold water are extremely difficult to clean up

A

–Oil spills in cold water are extremely difficult to clean up

41
Q

The snowline is defined as lower limit of perennial snow.(p.259, text).

If you were in a valley in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, in which season would you best be able to estimate the snow line on a specific mountain?

  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Fall
  • Winter
A

•Fall

42
Q
A

EAS 100 (10 decks)

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