Q&A Hero

Q: The lengthy ridges of till along each side of an alpine glacier are ________ moraines. A) ground B) terminal C) medial D) lateral

Q: A class of landforms formed by the accumulation of glacial till are known as A) drift. B) alluvium. C) outwash. D) moraines.

Q: Sediments deposited by glacial ice are ________; material deposited by glacial meltwater are ________. A) sorted; sorted B) unsorted; unsorted C) unsorted; sorted D) sorted; unsorted

Q: The general term for all glacial deposits is A) alluvium. B) erg. C) glacial drift. D) talus.

Q: A long, narrow glacially-eroded inlets in which the sea extends inland are known as A) cirques. B) fjords. C) tarns. D) paternoster.

Q: Which of the following is now an erosional feature formed by an alpine glacier? A) cirque B) horn C) drumlin D) col

Q: A glaciated valley is ________ shaped; a stream cut valley is ________ shaped. A) V-; U- B) U-; V- C) U-; U- D) V-; V-

Q: When several cirque glaciers gauge an individual mountain summit from all sides, a pyramidal peak known as a ________ results. A) col B) horn C) hanging valley D) artes

Q: ________ are sharp ridges that form when glaciers erode parallel valleys. A) Artes B) Eskers C) Drumlins D) Bergschrunds

Q: An asymmetrical hill of exposed bedrock produced by plucking and abrasion is known as a(n) A) esker. B) drumlin. C) roche moutonne. D) bergschrund.

Q: Glacial polish results from A) abrasion. B) ice plucking. C) regelation. D) ablation.

Q: All of the following are related to glacial erosion except A) ablation. B) abrasion. C) plucking. D) erratics.

Q: During a glacier surge, a glacier may move at a speed of A) 1 cm per day. B) 1 meter per hour. C) tens of meters per day. D) a few kilometers per hour.

Q: Glacial surges may be associated with A) water pressure under the glacier. B) soft bed below the glacier. C) lubrication from meltwater. D) water pressure, soft bed, or lubrication.

Q: Crevasses usually form as a result of A) regelation. B) ablation. C) deposition. D) friction, tension, and compression.

Q: Which of the following is not generally correct regarding the basal layer of a glacier? A) It can extend tens of meters above the ground surface. B) It tends to flow more slowly than the overlying parts of the glacier. C) It contains more debris than other parts of the glacier. D) Crevasses form in this region of the glacier.

Q: The upper portion of a glacier flows ________ the lower portion of the glacier. A) faster B) slower C) at the same speed.

Q: The zone where accumulation balances ablation is known as the A) equilibrium line. B) medial moraine. C) snowline. D) crevasses.

Q: A glacier's mass balance is determined by A) accumulation. B) ablation. C) both accumulation and ablation. D) neither accumulation nor ablation.

Q: The various processes that result in the loss of a glacier's mass are known collectively as A) sublimation. B) deflation. C) surface melting. D) ablation.

Q: The accumulation zone of a glacier ends at the ________, which marks the elevation above which the winter snow and ice remained intact throughout the summer. A) ice field B) firn line C) snow line D) terminal moraine

Q: Vatnajkull is the largest and most voluminous Icelandic glacier. It is roughly circular in shape, overlays several volcanoes, and covers an area of approximately 8,100 km2 (3,100 mi2) with an average thickness of 400 m (1,300 ft). This is an example of a(n) A) ice sheet. B) ice cap. C) ice field. D) alpine glacier.

Q: In terms of areal extent, which of the following sequences is ordered from largest to smallest extent covered? A) ice sheet, ice field, ice cap, alpine glacier B) ice sheet, ice cap, ice field, alpine glacier C) alpine glacier, ice field, ice cap, ice sheet D) ice sheet, alpine glacier, ice field, ice cap

Q: The average thickness of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is more than A) 1,000 m (3,280 ft). B) 2,000 m (6,500 ft). C) 3,000 m (9,800 ft). D) 4,000 m (13,100 ft).

Q: The type of glacier that dominates Greenland and Antarctica is an A) ice cap. B) ice sheet. C) ice field. D) ice shelves.

Q: An extensive, continuous mass of ice covering a continental scale is known as a(n) A) tidal glacier. B) ice sheet. C) piedmont glacier. D) tidewater glacier.

Q: The process of calving produces A) moraines. B) nunataks. C) tidewater glacier. D) icebergs.

Q: A glacier confined in a bowl-shaped recess is known as a(n) A) cirque glacier. B) valley glacier. C) piedmont glacier. D) tidewater glacier.

Q: Several valley glaciers coalescing at the base of a mountain range form a(n) A) cirque glacier. B) ice cap. C) piedmont glacier. D) tidewater glacier.

Q: Which of the following is correct regarding valley glaciers? A) The snowfield sources for these glaciers are usually found right at the snowline. B) They occur in an unconfined environmentlike an open plain. C) They may range in length from 100 m (325 ft.) to 100 km (62 mi.). D) They remain stationary and do not move.

Q: Alpine glaciers include all of the following except A) an ice cap. B) a piedmont glacier. C) a cirque glacier. D) a valley glacier.

Q: Which of the following is incorrect about glacial movement? A) Glaciers move under the pressure of their own weight and the pull of gravity. B) Glaciers move in streamlike patterns, merging as tributaries into large rivers of ice. C) Glacial movement produces distinct landforms. D) Glaciers are mostly stationary, only moving several centimeters over tens of years.

Q: A general term for a mass of perennial ice, resting on land or floating in the sea attached to a landmass is A) the snowline. B) an iceberg. C) a glacier. D) a moraine.

Q: The transformation of snow into glacial ice in Antarctica takes ________ than in midlatitude alpine glaciers because ________. A) less time; more snow fall in the polar regions each year slows the glacier formation process B) less time; there is more melting and refreezing in the midlatitudes and, therefore, it takes much longer there C) longer; the long summer days in Antarctica (up to 24-hours) results in more sunlight impeding the glacier development process D) longer; the dryness of the Antarctic climate and minimal snowfall as compared to wetter climates with constant snowfall

Q: Why is glacial ice analogous to a metamorphic rock? A) It has a definite chemical composition. B) It has a crystalline structure. C) It forms as a result of recrystallization caused by pressure. D) It is solid.

Q: Glacial ice is A) essentially the same as snow. B) formed from continual accumulation of snow that recrystallizes under its own weight into an ice mass over a period of many years. C) made of sedimentary rock. D) generally less dense than snow and firn.

Q: Partially compacted snow that is an intermediate between snow and ice is called a(n) A) firn. B) glacier. C) moraine. D) snowline.

Q: Which of the following is correct regarding the snowline? A) It increases in elevation with increasing latitude. B) It decreases in elevation with increasing latitude. C) It occurs at approximately the same elevation at all latitudes because the environmental lapse rate is approximately the same at all latitudes.

Q: A snowline refers to A) the latitude or elevation at which winter snow accumulates each year. B) the latitude demarcating the extent of glacial ice during the last glacial maximum. C) an isoline demarcating the extent of snow or ice on a weather map. D) the lowest line (latitude or elevation) where winter snow accumulation persists throughout the summer.

Q: Which of the following is not true? A) Many western states heavily rely on snowmelt for municipal water supplies. B) Seasonal snowpacks increases the Earth's albedo. C) The cryosphere compromises only a small, but very important component of Earth's freshwater resources. D) Decreases in snow cover may create a positive feedback loop as decreased albedo can lead to more warming.

Q: The bulk of ice on Earth is in A) North America, specifically Alaska. B) European and Asian mountain ranges. C) Greenland and Antarctica. D) floating ice shelves and packs.

Q: Approximately, what percentage of the Earth's freshwater is frozen? A) 10% B) 25% C) 50% D) 75%

Q: Summarize the recent changes in the Arctic and Antarctic regions as a result of climate change.

Q: What is the importance of the Pleistocene ice age epoch to the modern day?

Q: Describe the importance of periglacial processes.

Q: List several distinct landforms created by alpine glaciers and ice sheets, describing the manner in which they formed.

Q: Discuss the process of glacial erosion.

Q: Describe the process of glacial movement.

Q: Differentiate between alpine and continental glaciers, ice caps and ice fields.

Q: Describe the process by which snow becomes glacial ice.

Q: Thawing of permafrost could create a positive feedback loop as vast amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere, further amplifying warming.

Q: Disappearance of Mount Kilimanjaro's glaciers have been attributed solely to climate change.

Q: There is no evidence of recent Antarctic ice sheet breakup.

Q: The albedo of the Greenland Ice Sheet has decreased over the past decade due to ice sheet darkening.

Q: About half of Arctic sea-ice volume has disappeared since 1970 due to warming throughout the region.

Q: Overall, the Arctic is much cooler than Antarctic.

Q: The Arctic region is defined based on the July 10C (50F) isotherm whereas the Antarctic region is defined based on the February 10C (50F) isotherm.

Q: During the Pleistocene ice age, many areas of the southwestern United States were covered by large pluvial lakes.

Q: During the Pleistocene, there was as many as 18 glacial advances and retreats.

Q: During the height of the Pleistocene ice age, the glaciers extended as far south as the Ohio and Missouri river systems.

Q: During the Pleistocene up to 11% of Earth was covered with ice.

Q: The Pleistocene ice age began 18,000 years ago.

Q: Solifluction is the downslope movement of soil particles resulting from freeze/thaw cycles.

Q: patterned ground results from repeated freeze/thaw cycles and self-organization whereby stones are attracted towards stone domains and soil towards soil domains.

Q: A talik connects the surface to groundwater in discontinuous permafrost.

Q: The thickness of the active layer increases toward the poles.

Q: Approximately 80% of Alaska has permafrost beneath its surface.

Q: Permafrost describes those portions of the ocean that are constantly covered by floating ice.

Q: Permafrost requires soil, sediment, or rock temperatures to remain below freezing for at least 2 years.

Q: Most periglacial environments at high latitudes are seasonally snow-free.

Q: The Great Lakes of the United States resulted from repeated glacial advances and retreats which enlarged and deepened stream valleys to form the basins of the future lakes.

Q: Cirques, horns, cols, and arte are example of depositional landforms from ice sheets.

Q: If two glaciers with lateral moraines join, a medial moraine may form.

Q: Materials transported directly by glaciers tend to be unsorted when deposited. However, those carried by meltwater are sorted.

Q: The general term for glacially deposited sediments is alluvium.

Q: A fjord is a glacial landform that occurs in areas in which a glacier encounters the ocean and subsequently retreats.

Q: A paternoster lake is a singular lake filling a small cirque basin behind risers of rock material.

Q: Unlike V-shaped stream-cut valleys, glacial cut valleys are U-shaped.

Q: The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps is an example of a nunatak.

Q: Drumlins and kettles are examples of alpine glacial landforms.