Cryosphere and ice masses

Question 1

Cryosphere

Answer 1

places where water is permanently frozen and stored as snow/ice
-plays vital role in earths climate with albedo affect regulating global temps

Question 2

ice sheet

Answer 2

vast expanses of ice, 1km thick and cover land surfaces - margins out to sea to form ice shelves
-e.g. antartica covers 14mil km², stores 90% earths freshwater, 4km thick

Question 3

ice shelf

Answer 3

extended bits of ice sheets that margins out to sea - around than 50,000km²
- e.g. Ronne and Ross ice shelves, ross size of france

Question 4

ice cap

Answer 4

smaller masses of ice, often assocaited with mountain ranges - less than 50,000km²
- e.g. Vatnajokull iceland at 8000km² and 1km thick

Question 5

ice field

Answer 5

extensive regions of interconnected valley glaciers covering mountains - less than 50,000km²
e.g. patagonia chile

Question 6

valley glacier

Answer 6

larger masses moving from ice fields or corries and following river courses - 3-150km
- e.g. aletsch glacier switzerland 23km

Question 7

cirque glacier

Answer 7

small, occupy arm shaped hollows on mountains which may overspill to feed valley glaciers - average 1km²
- e.g. Eel glacier, olympic national park washington

Question 8

4 types of cold environments

Answer 8

-polar regions = high latitude, permanent ice
-periglacial (tundra) regions = edge of permanent ice, permanently frozen ground (permafrost), regions vary from permanently frozen to thaw in summer
-glacial = edges of ice sheets and highest mountainous regions .e.g himalayas
-alpine/mountain (altitude) = high altitudes cause cold conditions

Question 9

warm based glaciers (temperate glaciers)

Answer 9

water (acts as lubricant) is found throughout ice mass, letting ice move freely and erode rock
-bade of glacier is same temp as pressure melting point
-move around 20-200metres a year, can move up to 1000m

Question 10

cold based glaciers (polar)

Answer 10

base remains frozen as base is much colder than pressure melting point temp
-little water or movement and very little erosion
-only advances a few metres per year

Question 11

past distribution of ice cover

Answer 11

during pleistocene ice age, around 1/3 of earth land covered by glaciers
-most recent ice ages in quaternary, continental ice sheets covered most of canada, north USA, north Europe
-LGM = global sea level 400m lower than today, glaciers covered 25% of land

Question 12

present ice coverage

Answer 12

-around 10% land covered by glacial ice
-antarctic ice sheets largest, 400km long
-only 2 ice sheets, Antartica and Greenland
-Antartica contains 90% worlds ice

Question 13

UK during pleistocene, evidence of ice sheet

Answer 13

erosional evidence = found in snowdonia, lake district, and Cairngorms (Scotland) - includes corries, aretes, glacial troughs, roches moutonees, crag and tail, knock and lochan landscapes
depositional evidence = drumlines (e.g. in the vale of eden, cumbria), erratics (Bowder stone, Lake district), moraine (Cairngorms)
meltwater evidence = meltwater channels (newtondale), glacial till (Holderness coast), eskers (Blakeney, Norfolk)

Question 14

where are temperate glaciers likely to be found

Answer 14

high altitude areas e.g. alps as more pressure