Landscape Systems: Option B – Glaciated Landscapes: Practice Questions

Which of the following is a glacio-fluvial landform formed by the deposition of sand and gravel by a meltwater stream flowing within a subglacial tunnel?

Which of the following processes is primarily responsible for the development of thermokarst landscapes in periglacial regions subject to human activity?

A valley glacier has an annual accumulation of \(1,200 \text{ mm}\) water equivalent (w.e.) and an annual ablation of \(1,450 \text{ mm}\) w.e. Which statement correctly identifies the net mass balance and the most likely impact on the equilibrium line altitude (ELA)?

In the context of a glacial system, what term refers to the total loss of ice and snow from a glacier through processes such as melting, evaporation, and calving?

How do kames and eskers differ in terms of their depositional environments within glacio-fluvial systems?

Glacier mass balance is calculated as:
\(\text{Net Mass Balance} = \text{Accumulation} - \text{Ablation}\)

A monitoring station records annual measurements for a temperate valley glacier over a five-year period (values in \(\text{m}\) water equivalent, w.e.):

• Year 1: \(+0.45\)
• Year 2: \(-0.80\)
• Year 3: \(-0.25\)
• Year 4: \(+0.10\)
• Year 5: \(-0.70\)

(a) Calculate the cumulative mass balance over the entire 5-year period in \(\text{m}\) w.e.
(b) State the overall trend in the position of the glacier's terminus (snout) resulting from this cumulative balance.

Glacial landscape systems operate through distinct inputs, processes, and outputs.

(a) Explain how internal deformation enables cold-based ice sheets to move without significant basal meltwater.
(b) Explain two differences between glacial till deposited directly by ice and glacio-fluvial sediment deposited by proglacial meltwater streams.