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SciOly Glaciers
Dynamic Planet Glaciers
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| ablation area | the area of a glacier where more glacier mass is lost than gained. |
| ablation hollows | depressions in the snow surface caused by the sun or warm, gusty wind. |
| ablation moraine | mound or layer of moraine in the ablation zone of a glacier; the rock has been plucked from the mountainside by the moving glacier and is melting out on the ice surface. |
| ablation season | period during which glaciers lose more mass than they gain; usually coincides with summer. |
| ablation zone | area or zone of a glacier where snow and ice ablation exceed accumulation. |
| accumulation area | area of a glacier where more mass is gained than lost. |
| accumulation season | period during which a glacier gains more mass than it loses; usually coincides with winter. |
| accumulation zone | area of a glacier where more mass is gained than lost. |
| advance | when a mountain glacier's terminus extends farther down valley than before; glacial advance occurs when a glacier flows downvalley faster than the rate of ablation at its terminus. |
| alpine glacier | a glacier that is confined by surrounding mountain terrain; also called a mountain glacier. |
| arete | sharp, narrow ridge formed as a result of glacial erosion from both sides. |
| band ogives | alternate bands of light and dark on a glacier; usually found below steep narrow icefalls and thought to be the result of different flow and ablation rates between summer and winter. |
| basal sliding | the sliding of a glacier over bedrock. |
| bergschrund | crevasse that separates flowing ice from stagnant ice at the head of a glacier. |
| branched-valley glacier | glacier that has one or more tributary glaciers that flow into it; distinguished from a simple valley glacier that has only a single tributary glacier. |
| catchment glacier | a semipermanent mass of firn formed by drifted snow behind obstructions or in the ground; also called a snowdrift glacier or a drift glacier. |
| chattermarks | striations or marks left on the surface of exposed bedrock caused by the advance and retreat of glacier ice. |
| cirque | bowl shape or amphitheater usually sculpted out of the mountain terrain by a cirque glacier. |
| cirque glacier | glacier that resides in basins or amphitheaters near ridge crests; most cirque glaciers have a characteristic circular shape, with their width as wide or wider than their length. |
| cold glacier | glacier in which most of the ice is below the pressure melting point; nonetheless, the glacier's surface may be susceptible to melt due to incoming solar radiation |
| compression flow | flow that occurs when glacier motion is decelerating down-slope. |
| constructive metamorphism | snow metamorphism that adds molecules to sharpen the comers and edges of an ice crystal. |
| crevasse | open fissure in the glacier surface. |
| crevasse hoar | a kind of hoarfrost; ice crystals that develop by sublimation in glacial crevasses and in other cavities with cooled space and calm, still conditions under which water vapor can accumulate; physical origin is similar to depth hoar. |
| dead ice | any part of a glacier which has ceased to flow; dead ice is usually covered with moraine. |
| dirt cone | a cone-shaped formation of ice that is covered by dirt; a dirt cone is caused by a differential pattern of ablation between the dirt covered surface and bare ice. |
| drain channel | preferred path for meltwater to flow from the surface through a snow cover. |
| drift glacier | a semipermanent mass of firn formed by drifted snow behind obstructions or in the ground; also called a catchment glacier or a snowdrift glacier. |
| drumlin | remnant elongated hills formed by historical glacial action; it is not clear exactly how they are formed and why they form only in some glaciated regions. |
| dump moraine | a mound or layer of moraine formed along the edge of a glacier by rock that falls off the ice; sometimes called a ground moraine. |
| end moraine | an arch-shaped ridge of moraine found near the end of a glacier. |
| equilibrium zone | zone of a glacier in which the amount of precipitation that falls is equal to the amount that melts the following summer. |
| esker | a sinuous ridge of sedimentary material (typically gravel or sand) deposited by streams that cut channels under or through the glacier ice. |
| extending flow | |
| false ogives | bands of light and dark on a glacier that were formed by rock avalanching. |
| fjord | glacial troughs that fill with sea water. |
| foliation | layering in glacier ice that has distinctive crystal sizes and/or bubbles; foliation is usually caused by stress and deformation that a glacier experiences as it flows over complex terrain, but can also originate as a sedimentary feature. |
| forbes bands | alternate bands of light and dark on a glacier; usually found below steep narrow icefalls and thought to be the result of different flow and ablation rates between summer and winter. |
| forel stripes | shallow, parallel grooves on the face of a large melting ice crystal. |
| geyser | fountain that develops when water from a conduit is forced up to the surface of a glacier; also called a negative mill. |
| glacial advance | when a mountain glacier's terminus extends farther downvalley than before; occurs when a glacier flows downvalley faster than the rate of ablation at its terminus. |
| glacial erratic | a boulder swept from its place of origin by glacier advance or retreat and deposited elsewhere as the glacier melted; after glacial melt, the boulder might be stranded in a field or forest where no other rocks of its type or size exist. |
| glacial grooves | grooves or gouges cut into the bedrock by gravel and rocks carried by glacial ice and meltwater; also called glacial striations. |
| glacial retreat | when the position of a mountain glacier's terminus is farther upvalley than before; occurs when a glacier ablates more material at its terminus than it transports into that region. |
| glacial striations | grooves or gouges cut into the bedrock by gravel and rocks carried by glacial ice and meltwater; also called glacial grooves. |
| glacial till | accumulations of unsorted, unstratified mixtures of clay, silt, sand, gravel, and boulders; the usual composition of a moraine. |
| glacial trough | a large u-shaped valley formed from a v-shaped valley by glacial erosion. |
| glaciated | land covered in the past by any form of glacier is said to be glaciated. |
| glacier | a mass of ice that originates on land, usually having an area larger than one tenth of a square kilometer; many believe that a glacier must show some type of movement; others believe that a glacier can show evidence of past or present movement. |
| glacier cave | a cave of ice, usually underneath a glacier and formed by meltwater; cave entrances are often enlarged near a glacier terminus by warm winds; most common on stagnant portions of glaciers. |
| glacier fire | a phenomenon in which strong reflection of the sun on an icy surface causes a glacier to look like it is on fire. |
| glacier flood | a sudden outburst of water released by a glacier. |
| glacier flour | a fine powder of silt- and clay-sized particles that a glacier creates as its rock-laden ice scrapes over bedrock; usually flushed out in meltwater streams and causes water to look powdery gray; also called rock flour. |
| glacier ice | well-bonded ice crystals compacted from snow with a bulk density greater than 860 kilograms per cubic-meter (55 pounds per cubic-foot). |
| glacier mill | a nearly vertical channel in ice that is formed by flowing water; usually found after a relatively flat section of glacier in a region of transverse crevasses. |
| glacier pothole | potholes formed at the bottom of glaciers through erosion caused by sand and gravel in melt-water; |
| glacier remainie | a glacier that is reconstructed or reconstituted out of other glacier material; usually formed by seracs falling from a hanging glacier, then re-adhering; also called reconstituted, reconstructed or regenerated glacier. |
| glacier snout | the lowest end of a glacier; also called glacier terminus or toe. |
| glacier sole | the bottom of the ice of a glacier. |
| glacier table | a rock that resides on a pedestal of ice; formed by differential ablation between the rock-covered ice and surrounding bare ice. |
| glacier terminus | the lowest end of a glacier; also called glacier snout or toe. |
| glacier toe | the lowest end of a glacier; also called glacier snout or terminus. |
| glacier trough | u-shaped valleys transformed from v-shaped stream valleys due to erosion caused by passing glaciers. |
| glacieret | a very small glacier. |
| glacierized | land overlaid at present by a glacier is said to be covered; the alternative term glacierized has not found general favour. |
| ground moraine | continuous layer of till near the edge or underneath a steadily retreating glacier. |
| hanging glacier | a glacier that terminates at or near the top of a cliff. |
| headwall | a steep cliff, usually the uppermost part of a cirque. |
| horn | a peak or pinnacle thinned and eroded by three or more glacial cirques. |
| ice apron | a mass of ice adhering to a mountainside. |
| ice cap | a dome-shaped mass of glacier ice that spreads out in all directions; an ice cap is usually larger than an icefield but less than 50,000 square-kilometers (12 million acres). |
| ice cave | a cave of ice, usually underneath a glacier and formed by meltwater; cave entrances are often enlarged near a glacier terminus by warm winds; most common on stagnant portions of glaciers. |
| ice covered | land overlaid at present by a glacier is said to be covered; the alternative term glacierized has not found general favour. |
| ice divide | the boundary separating opposing flow directions of ice on a glacier or ice sheet. |
| ice quake | a shaking of ice caused by crevasse formation or jerky motion. |
| ice sheet | a dome-shaped mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 square kilometers (12 million acres) (e.g., the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets). |
| ice stream | (1) a current of ice in an ice sheet or ice cap that flows faster than the surrounding ice (2) sometimes refers to the confluent sections of a branched-valley glacier (3) obsolete synonym of valley glaciers. |
| ice-cemented glacier | a rock glacier that has interstitial ice a meter or so below the surface. |
| ice-cored glacier | a rock glacier that has a buried core of ice. |
| icefall | part of a glacier with rapid flow and a chaotic crevassed surface; occurs where the glacier bed steepenes or narrows. |
| hanging valley | a valley formed by a small glacier that has a valley bottom relatively higher than nearby valleys formed by larger glaciers. |
| icefield | a mass of glacier ice; similar to an ice cap, and usually smaller and lacking a dome-like shape; somewhat controlled by terrain. |
| jokulhlaup | (1) a large outburst flood that usually occurs when a glacially dammed lake drains catastrophically (2) any catastrophic release of water from a glacier. |
| lateral moraine | a ridge-shaped moraine deposited at the side of a glacier and composed of material eroded from the valley walls by the moving glacier. |
| marginal crevasse | a crevasse near the side of a glacier formed as the glacier moves past stationary valley walls; usually oriented about 45 degrees up-glacier from the side wall. |
| medial moraine | a ridge-shaped moraine in the middle of a glacier originating from a rock outcrop, nunatak, or the converging lateral moraines of two or more ice streams. |
| meltwater conduit | a channel within, underneath, on top of, or near the side of a glacier that drains meltwater out of the glacier; usually kept open by the frictional heating of flowing water that melts the ice walls of the conduit. |
| moraine | a mound, ridge, or other distinct accumulation of glacial till. |
| moraine shoal | glacial moraine that has formed a shallow place in water. |
| moulin | a nearly vertical channel in ice that is formed by flowing water; usually found after a relatively flat section of glacier in a region of transverse crevasses; also called a pothole. |
| mountain glacier | a glacier that is confined by surrounding mountain terrain; also called an alpine glacier. |
| negative mill | a geyser; a fountain that develops when water from a conduit is forced up to the surface of a glacier. |
| niche glacier | very small glacier that occupies gullies and hollows on north-facing slopes (northern hemisphere); may develop into cirque glacier if conditions are favorable. |
| nunatak | a rocky crag or small mountain projecting from and surrounded by a glacier or ice sheet. |
| ogives | |
| outburst flood | any catastrophic flooding from a glacier; may originate from trapped water in cavities inside a glacier or at the margins of glaciers or from lakes that are dammed by flowing glaciers. |
| outlet glacier | a valley glacier which drains an inland ice sheet or ice cap and flows through a gap in peripheral mountains. |
| piedmont glacier | large ice lobe spread out over surrounding terrain, associated with the terminus of a large mountain valley glacier. |
| polar glacier | a glacier entirely below freezing, except possibly for a thin layer of melt near the surface during summer or near the bed; polar glaciers are found only in polar regions of the globe or at high altitudes. |
| pothole | a nearly vertical channel in ice that is formed by flowing water; usually found after a relatively flat section of glacier in a region of transverse crevasses; also called a moulin. |
| push moraine | moraine built out ahead of an advancing glacier. |
| randkluft | a fissure that separates a moving glacier from its headwall rock; like a bergschrund. |
| reconstituted glacier | a glacier that is reconstructed or reconstituted out of other glacier material; usually formed by seracs falling from a hanging glacier then re-adhering; also called reconstructed glacier, regenerated glacier, or glacier remainie. |
| reconstructed glacier | a glacier that is reconstructed or reconstituted out of other glacier material; usually formed by seracs falling from a hanging glacier then re-adhering; also called reconstituted glacier, regenerated glacier, or glacier remainie. |
| regelation | motion of an object through ice by melting and freezing that is caused by pressure differences; this process allows a glacier to slide past small obstacles on its bed. |
| regenerated glacier | |
| retreat | when a mountain glacier's terminus doesn't extend as far downvalley as it previously did; occurs when ablation surpasses accumulation. |
| retreating glacier | a glacier whose terminus is increasingly retreating upvalley compared to its previous position due to a higher level of ablation compared to accumulation. |
| rock flour | a fine powder of silt- and clay-sized particles that a glacier creates as its rock-laden ice scrapes over bedrock; usually flushed out in meltwater streams, lakes and oceans that fill with glacier flour may develop a banded appearance. |
| rock glacier | looks like a mountain glacier and has active flow; usually includes a poorly sorted mess of rocks and fine material; may include: interstitial ice, (“ice-cemented”),a buried core of ice (“ice-cored”), and/or (3) rock debris from avalanching snow and rock. |
| sedimentary ogives | alternating bands of light and dark at the firn limit of a glacier; the light bands are usually young and lightest at the highest level up-glacier, becoming increasingly older and darker as they progress down-glacier. |
| serac | |
| sintering | the bonding together of ice crystals. |
| snowdrift glacier | a semipermanent mass of firn formed by drifted snow behind obstructions or in the ground; also called a catchment glacier or a drift glacier. |
| splay crevasse a crevasse pattern that forms where ice slowly spreads out sideways; commonly found near a glacier terminus. | |
| subpolar glacier | a glacier whose temperature regime is between polar and temperate; usually predominantly below freezing, but could experience extensive summer melt. |
| surging glacier a glacier that experiences a dramatic increase in flow rate, 10 to 100 times faster than its normal rate; usually surge events last less than one year and occur periodically, between 15 and 100 years. | |
| tarn | a small mountain lake or pool. |
| terminus | the lowest end of a glacier, also called the glacier toe or glacier snout. |
| thomson crystal | a large ice crystal found in deep, stagnant water-filled cavities of a glacier. |
| tidewater glacier | mountain glacier that terminates in the ocean. |
| tongue | a projection of the ice edge up to several km in length caused by wind and current; usually forms when a valley glacier moves very quickly into a lake or ocean. |
| tributary glacier | a small glacier that flows into a larger glacier. |
| valley glacier | a mountain glacier whose flow is confined by valley walls. |
| wave ogives | ogives that show some vertical relief on a glacier; usually the dark bands are in the hollows and the light bands are in the ridges; form at the base of steep, narrow ice falls. |
| weathered ice | glacier ice that has been exposed to sun or warm wind so that the boundaries between ice crystals are partly disintegrated. |
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