Cold Environments

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Where are Glacial Environments found?
High altitudes and high latitudes
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What are glacial environments?
Areas of land permanently covered by ice (glaciers or ice sheets)
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Where are periglacial environments found?
High altitudes, high latitudes and continental interiors
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What are periglacial environments?
Places where the temperature is frequently or constantly below freezing, but not covered by ice. They contain a layer of permafrost
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What is permafrost?
Permenantly frozen ground, on or below the surface
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Where are apline environments found?
High altitudes
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What are apline environments?
Cold areas of land at an altitude above the treeline
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Where are polar environments found?
Found at the poles. North pole (Arctic) and South pole (Antarctic) - both high latitudes
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What is sublimation?
When ice turns straight into water vapour (gas) or vice versa - skipping out the liquid stage
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What is the Glacical Budget?
The balance between a glacier's inputs and outputs (mass balance)
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Where is the zone of accumulation?
Upper part of the glacier
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Where is the zone of ablation?
Lower part of the glacier
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More accumulation than ablation...?
The glacier has a positive regime
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Less accumulation than ablation...?
The glacier has a negative regime
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Same amount of accumulation and ablation in a year...?
The glacier stays the same size and the position doesn't change
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Which time of year has more ablation?
Summer (warmer months)
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Which time of year has more accumulation?
Winter (Colder months)
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What are the 3 main things that determine the speed of a glacier's flow?
Gradient of the valley floor, the thickness of the ice & the temperature at the base of the glacier
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Steeper valley, thicker ice and warm-based glaciers are..?
Faster
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In a cold-based glacier thicker ice means more...?
Internal deformation
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How is an arete formed?
When two glaciers flow in parallel valleys - both erode the sides, sharpening the mountain ridge in between them
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How is a pyramidal peak formed?
When three or more corries form back to back
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How is glacial trough formed?
Erosion of a V-shaped valley by a glacier - making it deeper and wider into a U-shape
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How is a hanging valley formed?
Tributary glaciers erode the valley floor a lot less, so when the glaciers melt the valley is left at a higher level, and waterfalls are created into the main glacial trough
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How are truncated spurs formed?
When ridges of lang that stick out into the main valley are chopped off as the main glacier moves past
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How are valley steps formed?
When the glacier erodes the valley floor more deeply - either where another glacier joins, or the rock is less resistant
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How is a tarn formed?
When meltwater gathers in a corrie once the glacier has retreated
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How is a ribbon lake formed?
They form in dips caused by the erosion of less resistant rock or behind dams of debris left by the glacier
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How are fjords formed?
When a valley that has been eroded by a glacier is flooded by a sea level rise once the ice has melted
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How is a roche mountonnee formed?
When resistant rock isn't eroded a hard mass is left behind
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What does a roche mountonne look like?
Upstream (stoss) side is smooth because of abrasion, and downstream (lee) side is rough where the glacier plucked at it
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Where is recessional moraine found?
Perpendicular to the side of the valley (deposited when the glacier pauses as it retreats)
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Where is lateral moraine found?
Where the sides of the glacier were
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Where is medial moraine found?
In the middle of the valley when two glaciers converge (two lateral moraines join together)
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Where is terminal moraine found?
This builds up at the end of the glacier and is deposited in a semi-circular shape where the snout reached it's furthest point
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What is permafrost?
Permanentely frozen ground
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What percentage of the world's surface is permafrost?
20-25%
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What is the 'Active layer' of permafrost?
The top layer that melts in the summer
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What are the 3 types of permafrost?
Sporadic, continuous or discontinuous
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How does land get classed as discontinuous permafrost?
The mean annual tempreature has to be below zero degrees for at least 2 years
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How does land get classed as continuous permafrost?
The annual temperature has to be below -5 degrees
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What is solifluction?
When the active layer melts, because the rest of the permafrost is impermeable, it becomes waterlogged and flows wherever there is a gradient
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What is a Lobe formation?
Where one layer of soil moves faster than the soil around it creating a curved lobe shape
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What are the two types of pingos?
Open-system and closed-system
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What are glacial environments?

Back

Areas of land permanently covered by ice (glaciers or ice sheets)

Card 3

Front

Where are periglacial environments found?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What are periglacial environments?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is permafrost?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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