Conversational Glaciology
Learning to speak like a glaciologist
Matching Exercise A type of erosion where glacial melt water freezes onto rocks arête and then as the ice carries on moving it ‘plucks’ and pulls off pieces of rock
abrasion As ice slowly moves forward it pushes material forwards ahead of it like a bulldozer
A deep crack found in the surface of an ice-sheet or glacier, bedload these are often buried under snow and can be incredibly dangerous if unseen
Also known as frost-shattering, this is a type of erosion when temperatures are near freezing point and as water enters boulder clay (till) cracks in the rocks it will later freeze, expand and then break the rocks apart
A narrow band of sediment debris that runs along the sides bulldozing and edges of a glacier as a result of the ice eroding the valley sides and freeze-thaw weathering of the rocks
The end of a glacier, which is always either advancing or calving retreating as glaciers are constantly (though very slowly) moving
A sharp knife-edge ridge of high ground that forms between corrie /cwm / two corries where they are cutting back into the rock cirque
A bare outcrop of rock (that looks like a sheep head) that is crevasse shaped by glacial erosion to leave one side smooth and gently sloping while the other side is steep, plucked and rough
The process whereby blocks of ice collapse and fall from the drumlin snout of the glacier, often into a glacial lagoon
Rock sediments that are transported and deposited by a equilibrium glacier at some distance from their original source location, line making them appear unusual in comparison to other materials nearby A former river valley spur (ridge of high land) which has had erosion the ends ‘sliced’ off by a valley glacier, leaving steep cliff-like edges
The imaginary boundary line between the ablation zone erratics (where ice is lost) and accumulation zone (where ice is gained)
A form of erosion that is caused by rocks and sediment at the fjord base of glaciers grinding along the ground beneath acting like a giant sand-paper file to scrape and smooth rocks below
freeze-thaw Sediment material that is dragged along the base of a glacier weathering or ice sheet, acting to erode the ground beneath
glacial An armchair-shaped rounded hollow in a mountainside that trough / is formed by a combination of glacial erosion, rotational slip glaciated and freeze-thaw weathering. When the ice melts it leaves a valley depression in the rock.
A hill landform that is formed by the deposition of glacial till (boulder clay) as a glacier moves, they are usually oval in hanging shape and their long axis is parallel to the direction of ice valley
The process of material being broken down and worn away, Holocene which can happen in various ways, e.g. abrasion, plucking, freeze-thaw
Also known as a U-shaped valley, the U refers to the deep interglacial and wide shape that a valley becomes following ice erosion (unlike river valleys which are eroded to form a V shape)
A tributary valley that joins on to the main glacier, it is too high up and cold for ice to be able to easily move and so lateral does not become as eroded as the main glacier valley – it moraine often has waterfalls today
The period of time in between glacial periods (ice ages) moraine when it is warmer When several corries cut back into the rock back-to-back outwash they meet at a central point, eroding the mountain to form a steep pyramid shape
Long, narrow finger-shaped lakes that are found in glaciated plucking valleys, and were formed when the glacier had more erosion energy (e.g. when the glacier moves over a band of softer rock that erodes more quickly than surrounding harder rock)
Changes in the relative level of the sea compared to the land pyramidal which can fluctuate accordingglacier to activity, e.g. falling peak sea levels during high glaciation, or rising seas during times of ice melt
A ridge of rock / sediment debris tha t is deposited at the end ribbon lake of iat isg lacier,usually a mix of boulders, sand, gravel and clays
roches A mixture of sands, clays and boulders carried by a glacier and moutonn then deposited over a large area ées
Sediment, often sands and gravels, deposited by meltwater rotational streams in front of and underneath glaciers which is then slip sorted and rounded over time (this forms an outwash plain, similar to a river forming a floodplain)
Loose stones that are broken away from mountain sides by scree freeze-thaw weathering, and leave slopes covered in angular loose stones
A long, narrow, deep, steep-sided inlet from the sea back sea level inland that is formed by glaciers and then later drowned change once sea level rises again
The current epoch of geological time, that began snout approximately 12'000 years ago at the end of the (terminus Pleistocene; part of the Quaternary period or toe)
Frost-shattered rock debris and sediment that is eroded tarn from the valley floor and sides then transported and deposited by glaciers I A tprocesshat occurs whenflows ice in a circular motion, terminal helping to erode hollows and bowls in the landscape moraine I x- ---- + ------
� truncated I A deep circular lake that forms within corries / cirques / spur cwms when ice has melted -----+------Also known as a glacial trough, the U refers to the deep and U shaped valley wide shape that a valley becomes following ice erosion by glaciers leaving a wide flat valley floor and straight sides -----+------The breakdown or decomposition of material such as rock by weathering physical (mechanical), chemical or biological processes -----+------
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