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Glaciated Landscapes

Glacier movement

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 1

Overview

Pressure melting point, internal deformation as a mechanism of glacier movement and basal sliding.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Explain why ice at the base of a thick glacier can be liquid at below 0°C.

Key term

What is a glacier surge?

Key term

Distinguish a cold-based glacier from a warm-based glacier.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Distinguish a cold-based glacier from a warm-based glacier.

    Model answer

    A cold-based glacier is frozen to its bed with temperatures below the pressure melting point, while a warm-based glacier has meltwater at its base.

  2. 2

    Where are cold-based glaciers typically found?

    Model answer

    In very high latitudes and at high altitude, such as Antarctica and parts of Greenland, where temperatures stay far below freezing all year.

  3. 3

    Compare the rates of movement of cold-based and warm-based glaciers.

    Model answer

    Cold-based glaciers move only a few metres a year, while warm-based glaciers commonly move tens of metres a year and sometimes far more.

  4. 4

    What is the pressure melting point?

    Model answer

    The pressure melting point is the temperature at which ice will melt at a given pressure, and it falls below 0°C as pressure increases.

  5. 5

    Explain why ice at the base of a thick glacier can be liquid at below 0°C.

    Model answer

    The weight of ice above raises the pressure, which lowers the melting point, so ice at the bed melts at a temperature still below zero.

  6. 6

    Describe internal deformation as a mechanism of glacier movement.

    Model answer

    Ice crystals slide over one another and the whole mass creeps under its own weight, so the glacier moves without sliding on its bed.

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