Glacial Systems and Mass Balance
- Created by: darcie_cl
- Created on: 25-02-14 12:40
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- Glacial systems and mass balance
- INTRODUCTION
- When ice is sufficiently thick (50m+), ice will flow downhill due to gravity
- The glacier will also loose mass through melting
- Hence glaciers can be seen as a system with inputs, outputs, stores, transfers and outputs
- SYSTEM WORDS
- Accumulation = mass gained from snowfall onto the glacier surface
- Ablation = mass lost due to warm air or applied pressure causing evaporation or wind errosion
- Equilibrium line = the boundary where accumulation equals ablation
- Snow line = lowest altitude that snow reaches (where snow stops)
- Glacial budget = amount of mass (snow and ice) lost from the glacier
- GLACIAL MASS BALANCE
- The gains and losses of ice by a glacier = its mass balance/glacial budget
- Accumulation > ablation = positive balance (glacier gains mass)
- Position of snout will increase
- Accumulation < ablation = negative balance (glacier looses mass)
- Position of snout will recede
- Accumulation = ablation = zero balance (glacier remains stationary)
- INTRODUCTION
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