Studied by 3 people
Glacial mass budget
how ice accumulates and melts on a glacier which determines whether a glacier advances or retreats
U-shaped valley
a shape left behind by the glacier with a misfit stream
corrie or cirque
an amphitheater-like valley formed by glacial erosion characterized by deep, wide basins with very steep concave walls at its head as well as sides.
arête
a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys
Bergschrund
a feature formed at the beginning of a glacier when the initial ice mass becomes too heavy and breaks away from its base
pingos
dome shaped hills common in periglacial areas characterized by permafrost and a seasonally changing active layer. At the core is an ice lens, and the surface layer made of soil
patterned ground
symmetrical pattern of geometric shapes formed by the deformation of ground material in periglacial regions.
solifluction
when land mass moves down a slope due to freeze-thaw activity
Ice wedges
vertical masses of ice that penetrate down, formed as a result of the large amounts of ground ice present
rain-shadow effect
an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region forcing it to become a desert
rock pedestals
a naturally occurring rock whose shape resembles a mushroom as a result of wind erosion
mesas
sections of a plateau eroded away by water that are wider than they are tall
buttes
eroded mesas that are taller than they are wide
dunes
aeolian sands (sand moved by wind) trapped by barriers begins to build up
the Aral Sea
a lake which lies on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
75%
the Aral Sea has lost (…) of it’s original surface area
22
the number of fish species that have gone extinct in the Aral Sea
150 thousand tons
the amount of salt which has been lifted from the Aral Sea
Kokaral Dam
Dam constructed by Kazakhstan across a narrow stretch of the Aral Sea, splitting off the North Aral Sea from the much larger South Aral Sea.
13km and 100 million dollars
length and cost of the Kokaral Dam constructed by Kazakhstan
the Sahel
a semi-arid zone stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa to the Red Sea
60km per year
estimated growth of the Sahara as the Sahel dries
Uranium
Niger’s biggest mineral export
3434 tonnes
the amount of Uranium extracted in Niger in 2006
Areva
the French company owner of the biggest mine in the North of Niger
40%
Uranium represents (…) of Niger’s total exports
4.5%
Resource extraction represents (…) of Niger’s GDP
270 million m3
the amount of water estimated to be extracted in the next 40 years in Niger for Resource extraction
the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS)
an oil transportation system spanning Alaska that conveys oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez
800 miles
the approximate length of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS)
8 billion dollars
the cost to construct the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS)
16 billion as of 2010
the TAPS pipeline has shipped almost (…) barrels of oil as of (…)
85%
the percentage of Alaska’s revenue which comes from the petroleum industry
46’000 gallons of oil and water
The size of a spill caused by a crack in the TAPS pipeline in 2009
Note 
Flashcard (21)