cold environments vocabulary

ablation

ablation

The loss of mass from the glacier, e.g. meltwater, avalanches, sublimation, evaporation.

Accumulation

The addition of mass to the glacier, usually as snow.

alpine regions

Areas of low temperature in high altitude, mountainous regions.

cirques

A round hollow in the side of a hill, widened from an initial smaller hollow by a glacier within the hollow.

glacial budget

The difference between accumulation and ablation for a glacier.

moraine

Deposits of eroded material that has been transported by a glacier. Moraines may be lateral, medial, ground, recessional or terminal.

permafrost

Permanently frozen soils throughout the year.

polar regions

Rock shaped by a glacier flowing over it and eroding it.