Cold Envioronments Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is a cold enviornment
Areas of land permantly covered by ice. Covered by glaciers, ice sheets and have frozen soil
Where are cold environments found
In places of high altitude or where are less air particles to be heated. (In every continent)
Whats altitude
The higher up you are the less particles there are to be heated
Whats latitude
The higher you go up the more the tenperature drops due to the curvature of the earth.
Whats continentality
When the worlds oceans take a long time to heat up but when they do it keeps the heat fro much longer.
Whats a glacier
A glacier is a huge mass of ice that moves slowly over land.
How do galciers form
It forms when there is a build up of ice or snow for many years.
What does acumulation mean
Accumulation is when glaciers advance in the winter
What does ablation mean
Ablations when glaciers retraet in summer
How are galciers like budgets
Because theres an output an input and a process
Why do galciers advance and retreat
It usually depends on the weather they usually advance in the winter because of the snow and retreat in the summer.
Whats basal sliding
Basal sliding is slipping downhill on a thin layer of meltwater.
What freeze thaw weathering
Its when water gets colected into the cracks, during the night the temperature drops below 0 and the water freezes. Then the cracks expand
Whats plucking
When meltwater beneath a goacier freezes. It bonds itself to the rock surface, as the glacier moves down hill any loose rock fragments created by freeze thaw weathering are plucked away.
Whats abrasion
When rock fragments in the ice grind against the rock below the ice causing the rocks to wear away the land below. It almost has a sandpaper effect.
Hows a corrie formed
When snow accumulates in hollows. The snow conpacts into ice and tjis accumulates over many years to compact and grow into a corrie. This tye moves downhill because of grqvity and the mass of ice.
Whats a tarn
A deep lake at the base of a corrie
Whats a corrie
A deep aarmchair shaped hollow found in tje side of a mountain
How do arretes form
When 2 corries erode back to back leaving a pyramid like formation
Whats pyramidal peak
Its when 3 corries erdoe back to back
What places would be affected the most if there was a massive sea level rise
Places that are 1to 1.5m above sea leavel would be wiped out after about 100 yrs.
