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27 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Alpine glacier |
flow downhill from where the snow and ice accumulates through mountains along existing valleys |
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Bergschrund |
The large crevasse at the top of an alpine glacier where ice that is moving is separated from ice that is stuck to the mountain above |
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Continental glacier |
large ice sheets that cover relatively flat ground |
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Crevasse |
where cracks form in the ice as a result of movement |
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Glacier |
ice that moves because the amount of snow and ice that collects in the zone of accumulation exceeds the amount that melts off in the zone of ablation |
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Zone of ablation |
lower part of glacier where the amount of snow and ice melted is greater than the amount that accumulates |
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Zone of accumulation |
upper part of a glacier where amount of snow and ice accumulated is greater than what is melted |
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Erratic |
piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests |
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Horn |
results when glaciers erode three or more arêtes, usually forming a sharp-edged peak |
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Moraine |
any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions on Earth, through geomorphological processes |
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Arete |
a sharp mountain ridge |
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Kettle |
a shallow, sediment-filled body of water formed by retreating glaciersor draining floodwaters |
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Interglacial period |
geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age |
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Ice age |
period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental |
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Glacial period |
a period in the earth's history when polar and mountain ice sheets were unusually extensive across the earth's surface |
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Eccentricity |
an orbit |
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Firn |
granular snow, especially on the upper part of a glacier, where it has not yet been compressed into ice |
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Till |
unsorted material deposited directly by glacial ice |
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Snowfield |
a permanent wide expanse of snow in mountainous or polar regions |
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Iceberg |
a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water |
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Ice sheet |
a mass of glacial land ice extending more than 50,000 square kilometers |
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Ice shelf |
a floating sheet of ice permanently attached to a landmass |
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Cirque |
an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion |
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Milankovitch theory |
an explanation of long term climate change |
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Glacial lake |
formed when a glacier erodes the land, and then melts, filling the hole or space that it has created |
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Esker |
winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel |
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Snowline |
interplay of altitude and latitude affects the precise placement of the snow line at a particular location |
