AQA A-Level Geography 7037
Water and Carbon Cycles
Hot Desert Systems and LandscapesLandscape
Coastal Systems and LandscapesLandscape
Glacial Systems and LandscapesLandscape
HazardsHazards or ecosystems
Ecosystems Under StressHazards or ecosystems
Global Systems and Global Governance
Changing Places
Contemporary Urban EnvironmentsHuman option
Population and the EnvironmentHuman option
Resource SecurityHuman option
Glacial Systems and Landscapes
Ice-Albedo and Negative Feedback
- 4 things to know
- Component 1
Overview
Recall questions on positive feedback and each step of the ice-albedo loop, and on negative feedback in which retreating ice exposes ocean water, increasing precipitation and snow accumulation and so affecting glacier mass.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
What surfaces are exposed when ice melts in the ice-albedo feedback process?
What is the final outcome of the ice-albedo positive feedback loop?
What happens to snow accumulation as a result of increased precipitation from exposed ocean water?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Define positive feedback in the context of a glacial system.
Model answer
A process that amplifies an initial change, moving the system further from equilibrium.
- 2
In ice-albedo feedback, what happens first to trigger the feedback loop?
Model answer
The ice surface melts.
- 3
What surfaces are exposed when ice melts in the ice-albedo feedback process?
Model answer
Darker surfaces such as rock or water.
- 4
Why does exposing darker surfaces accelerate melting in ice-albedo feedback?
Model answer
Darker surfaces have lower albedo, so they absorb more solar heat rather than reflecting it.
- 5
What is the final outcome of the ice-albedo positive feedback loop?
Model answer
Accelerated melting of ice, amplifying the original change.
- 6
Why does ice-albedo feedback represent a positive rather than negative feedback mechanism?
Model answer
Because it amplifies the initial change (melting leads to more melting) rather than counteracting it.
Other ways to work this
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