Author Question: Use your own words to describe the zones of accumulation and wastage. How does the snowline ... (Read 65 times)

lbcchick · **on:** Jul 16, 2018

Use your own words to describe the zones of accumulation and wastage. How does the snowline elevation change if climate changes?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What two conditions must be met for a glacier to form?

What will be an ideal response?

brittrenee · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 16, 2018

Answer to Question 1

The snowline is the elevation above where snow persists throughout the year. The snowline is the boundary between the zone of accumulation, where winter snowfall exceeds summer melting, and the zone of wastage, where melting exceeds winter snowfall. If the climate becomes cooler, then the snowline descends to a lower elevation. If the climate becomes warmer, the snowline shifts to a higher elevation.

Answer to Question 2

The accumulation of winter snow must exceed what melts during the summer, so that some snow persists year-round and recrystallizes into ice.
The accumulated snow and ice are thick enough for the whole mass to flow under its own weight.