Glaciers

Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences,University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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1. What causes ice ages?
   1. variations in the earth's orbit
   2. variations in sun's heat output
   3. variations in sunlight reflected by the earth
   4. no definite cause has been conclusively proven
2. Ice near the surface of a glacier exhibits ________behavior.
   1. brittle
   2. ductile
3. Ice deep within a glacier exhibits________behavior.
   1. brittle
   2. ductile
4. Which of the following was never an outlet of the Great Lakes during the retreat of the glaciers?
   1. the Gulf via the Mississippi
   2. to the Atlantic via the Potomac or Susquehanna
   3. from Lake Erie to the Ohio River
   4. across Ontario to the St. Lawrence
5. The end of a glacier is located:
   1. where it meets an obstacle
   2. where the average annual temperature equals 32 degrees F.
   3. where snowfall plus inflow equals melting plus evaporation
   4. where one year's snow just melts before the next year's snow begins
6. Most of the world's glacial ice is in:
   1. mountain glaciers
   2. the Antarctic Ice Cap
   3. the Greenland Ice Cap
7. The Wisconsin, Illinoisan, Kansan and Nebraskan ice advances:
   1. account for all known Pleistocene ice advances
   2. account for almost all Pleistocene ice advances
   3. are only the last of many more Pleistocene ice advances
8. The "firn line" on a glacier marks:
   1. the dividing line between the zones of accumulation and ablation
   2. the elevation above which snow never melts
   3. the elevation where the average annual temperature is below freezing
   4. the timber line, or elevation above which trees do not grow
9. Why do continental glaciers have a dome-like profile?
   1. More snow falls in the interior of the glacier.
   2. Ice melts faster at the edges than the middle.
   3. Ice has lower density than rock, so the crust rises under the glacier.
   4. the ice flows outward under its own weight.
10. When a glacier retreats, a rock trapped within the ice
    1. continues to move toward the foot of the glacier
    2. retreats more slowly than the glacier front
    3. retreats as fast as the glacier front
    4. retreats faster than the glacial front
11. Glaciers can only exist where the average temperature is below freezing.
    1. true
    2. false
12. Icebergs are formed by:
    1. freezing of sea water
    2. river ice which is carried out to sea
    3. pieces of glacial ice breaking off the glacier
    4. water freezing on the sea floor and floating to the surface
13. During the Pleistocene, large lakes covered parts of the Western U.S. These lakes are known as:
    1. crater lakes
    2. playas
    3. pluvial lakes
    4. flood plains
14. The Pleistocene ice advances:
    1. are known to have ended
    2. are the only ones known in geologic history
    3. both of the above
    4. neither of the above
15. The result of a glacier flowing into the sea:
    1. icebergs
    2. ice shelves
    3. both of the above
    4. neither of the above
16. A glacier flows down a deep, slightly winding valley. After the glacier melts, the valley will be all of these except:
    1. straighter
    2. deeper
    3. wider
    4. more winding
17. Hanging valleys:
    1. form when a glacier in a major valley cuts deeper than the tributary glacier
    2. are common locations for waterfalls
    3. are among the few cases of tributary valleys that do not meet the main valley at the level of the valley floor
    4. all of the above
18. How is it possible for a stream to have flowed on top of an esker?
    1. the original stream banks are now eroded away
    2. there used to be a stream channel on top which has been filled in
    3. the "banks" of the stream were glacial ice
    4. it really isn't possible
19. Which of these is till?
    1. fine flacial lake clay
    2. well-sorted outwash sand
    3. a polished rock outcrop
    4. unsorted sand, gravel and clay in a moraine
20. Depending on pressure, glacial ice exhibits two forms of behavior:
    1. brittle and ductile
    2. solid and granular
    3. plastic and liquid
    4. snow and hail
21. Glacial striations on an outcrop trend NE-SW. The direction of ice movement was:
    1. NE to SW
    2. NW to SE
    3. SW to NE
    4. could be either NE or SW
22. Kettle ponds formed when
    1. glaciers scoured deep holes
    2. meltwater scoured potholes
    3. blocks of ice melted and left depressions where the ice had been
    4. large boulders rolled off the glacier and made craters
23. Eskers probably form
    1. when the ice is advancing
    2. when the ice is retreating
24. When a continental glacier retreats
    1. the entire ice front retreats smoothly
    2. the ice never advances again
    3. none of the above
25. The Pleistocene glaciers moved only southward
    1. true
    2. false
26. You'd use these to map the former margins of a glacier
    1. Eskers
    2. Drumlins
    3. Moraines
    4. Kames
27. If you knew a glacier moved either east or west and wanted to find out which, you'd look for
    1. Drumlins
    2. Roches Moutonees
    3. Either or both of these
    4. None of these
28. Which of these would indicate the former presence of a glacial lake?
    1. Varved clay
    2. Out wash sands
    3. till
    4. Loess
29. Not a feature of mountain glaciation
    1. horn
    2. arete
    3. cirque
    4. drumlin
30. Which of these is true?
    1. only continental glaciers leave moraines.
    2. Only mountain glaciers produce striations.
    3. Only continental glaciers produce cirques.
    4. None of the above
31. As you go from lower to higher latitudes, the altitude of the snow line should:
    1. increase
    2. stay the same
    3. decrease
    4. vary randomly
    5. none of these
32. The zone of accumulation is characterized by:
    1. ablation
    2. the thickest development of glacial ice
    3. wastage
    4. moraines
    5. none of these
33. A sudden movement of a glacier caused by a sudden addition of snow on ice.
    1. surge
    2. plastic deformation
    3. calving
    4. basal slip
    5. none of these
34. The feature of valleys formed by glaciers which differentiates them from valleys formed by streams is:
    1. the presence of kettles
    2. the presence of drumlines
    3. their characteristic V-shape
    4. their characteristic U-shape
    5. none of these
35. A boulder which has been carried from its place of origin by a glacier and later deposited on bedrock of a different nature is called:
    1. a firn
    2. an erratic
    3. a kame
    4. an esker
    5. none of these
36. A medial moraine is developed:
    1. on the side of a glacier
    2. in the bergschrund
    3. at the end of the glacier
    4. none of these
    5. in the middle of two coalesced glaciers
37. An esker is:
    1. a knife-edged ridge which separates two glacial valleys
    2. a smooth, elongated, asymmetric hill of till
    3. a depression which was caused by the melting of a block of ice which had been buried in glacial debris
    4. a winding, steep-walled deposit of water-lain glacial debris
    5. none of these
38. The following glacial feature cannot be used to determine directions of ice movement:
    1. drumlins
    2. striation
    3. varves
    4. boulder trains
    5. none of these
39. A glacial valley which has been left stranded above a primary glacial valley is called:
    1. perched valley
    2. a hanging valley
    3. a cirque
    4. a truncated valley
    5. none of these
40. Crevasses in glaciers extend down to:
    1. about 300 m
    2. the base of the glacier
    3. the zone of plastic flow
    4. variable depths depending on how thick the ice is
    5. the outwash layer
41. If a glacier has a negative budget:
    1. the terminus will retreat
    2. its accumulation rate is greater than its wastage rate
    3. all flow ceases
    4. the glacier's length increases
    5. crevasses will no longer form
42. There were Pleistocene mountain glaciers in Oregon at only 5000 feet elevation, but the same elevations in Wyoming at the same latitude were ice-free. Why?
    1. there was much more precipitation in Oregon
    2. there really were glaciers in Wyoming but the evidence has not yet been discovered
    3. there were no low-elevation glaciers in Oregon and the evidence has been misinterpreted
    4. continental drift has moved Oregon further south
    5. it was much warmer in Wyoming
43. The bowl-shaped depression at the upper end of a glacial trough is a(an):
    1. inselberg
    2. drumlin
    3. cirque
    4. till
    5. lateral moraine
44. Firn is:
    1. freshly fallen snow
    2. a granular type of ice
    3. a valley train
    4. another name for the zone of wastage
    5. a type of glacial groove
45. Pressure on ice at depth in a glacier causes it to move by:
    1. rock creep
    2. surging
    3. fracture
    4. plastic flow
    5. basal slip
46. A pyramid-shaped peak formed by glacial erosion is a:
    1. fiord
    2. cirque
    3. medial moraine
    4. hanging valley
    5. horn
47. Glacial drift is a general term for:
    1. the erosional landforms of continental glaciers
    2. all the deposits of glaciers
    3. icebergs floating at sea
    4. the movement of glaciers by plastic flow and basal slip
    5. the annual wastage rate of a glacier
48. Rocks abraded by glaciers may develop a smooth surface that shines in reflected light. Such a surface is called glacial:
    1. grooves
    2. striations
    3. polish
    4. till
    5. flour
49. A small lake in a cirque is a:
    1. pluvial lake
    2. salt lake
    3. proglacial lake
    4. glacial trough
    5. tarn
50. The most recent ice age occurred during the:
    1. Archean Eon
    2. Cambrian Period
    3. Pleistocene Epoch
    4. Tertiary Period
    5. Mesozoic Era
51. When ice flows over a rocky knob, it creates a landform:
1. With a smooth upstream side and an irregular downstream side
2. With a smooth downstream side and an irregular upstream side
3. With evenly rounded sides
4. With irregular sides all over
52. How weathering is thought to affect ice ages:
1. It lowers mountains and allows wind to circulate more freely
2. It releases calcium that combines with carbon dioxide
3. It removes sulfur that otherwise might warm the atmosphere
4. It creates methane, which cools the atmosphere
53. The earth's natural Greenhouse Effect is mostly due to
1. Carbon dioxide
2. Methane
3. Sulfur dioxide
4. Water vapor
54. When ice-dammed lakes drain, they usually drain
1. by evaporation
2. by seepage into the ground
3. by gradually lowering their outlets
4. by abrupt failure of the ice dam
55. The number of ice advances during the Pleistocene was most likely:
1. one
2. four
3. 20-25
4. over 100
56. The best record for the Pleistocene ice advances is contained
1. In deposits on land
2. In the Antarctic ice cap
3. On the sea floor
4. In glacial lake deposits
57. Marine evidence for ice advances and retreats includes
1. Alternations of warm and cold water microfossils
2. Coarse debris dropped by icebergs
3. Variations in oxygen isotopes
4. All of these
58. Evidence for the "snowball earth" climate variations is best seen in glacial deposits abruptly succeeded by:
1. warm-water limestones
2. sand dune deposits
3. coal
4. volcanic ash layers

Questions below refer to this diagram of a continental glacier.

59. Melt water flowing through the crevasses at A will most likely form:
1. Eskers
2. Drumlins
3. Moraines
4. Cirques
60. The material deposited at B forms:
1. Eskers
2. Drumlins
3. Moraines
4. Cirques
61. The material deposited by streams at C is termed:
1. Till
2. Outwash
3. Varves
4. Drift
62. The streams at C are most likely
1. Braided
2. Meandering
3. Old-Age
4. Rejuvenated
63. The glacier's dome-like profile is due to:
1. Ablation
2. Wind erosion
3. The ice spreading out under its own weight
4. Greater snowfall in the interior

The questions below refer to this diagram of a continental glacier in retreat.

64. The features at A are:
1. Lake deposits
2. Moraines
3. Drumlins
4. Cirques
65. The features at A indicate
    1. Former positions of glacial lakes
    2. Former margins of the glacier 
    3. Positions of former meltwater streams
    4. Deposits streamlined by ice flow
66. The features at B are ridges of sand and gravel. These are
    1. Moraines
    2. Drumlins
    3. Cirques
    4. Eskers
67. The features at B are ridges of sand and gravel. They indicate
    1. Former positions of glacial lakes
    2. Former margins of the glacier 
    3. Positions of former meltwater streams
    4. Deposits streamlined by ice flow
68. The features at C are streamlined hills of till, sand and gravel. These are:
    1. Moraines
    2. Drumlins
    3. Cirques
    4. Eskers
69. The features at C are streamlined hills of till, sand and gravel. They indicate
1. Positions of former meltwater streams
2. Former margins of the glacier 
3. Former positions of glacial lakes
4. Ice-Flow Directions
70. At D is a large isolated remnant of ice. When it melts it will probably form a:
1. Kettle
2. Drumlin
3. Moraine
4. Esker
71. The ice-dammed lake at E is probably depositing:
1. Till
2. Outwash
3. Varved deposits
4. Gravel
72. When the ice-dammed lake at E drains, it will probably do so:
1. Gradually
2. By seepage into the ground
3. Catastrophically and abruptly
4. By evaporation

The questions below refer to this diagram of a glaciated mountain landscape

73. An arete occurs at (letter): -A-  -B-  -C-  -D-  -E-
74. A horn occurs at (letter): -A-  -B-  -C-  -D-  -E-
75. A cirque occurs at (letter): -A-  -B-  -C-  -D-  -E-
76. A moraine occurs at (letter): -A-  -B-  -C-  -D-  -E-
77. A hanging valley occurs at (letter): -A-  -B-  -C-  -D-  -E-
78. Crescentic gouges are believed to form:
    1. When glacial ice sticks firmly to underlying bedrock
    2. When intense cold shatters the rock under a glacier
    3. When fast-moving melt water develops eddies and whirlpools
    4. When the glacier presses boulders hard enough to fracture bedrock
79. The oldest well documented glaciation on earth happened
    1. 2.5 million years ago
    2. 250 million years ago
    3. 450 million years ago
    4. 900 million years ago
    5. 2300 million years ago
80. During the snowball earth episodes, what is believed to have caused the ice to melt?
    1. Brightening of the sun
    2. Volcanic ash darkening the surface
    3. Global warming due to biological methane
    4. Accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
    5. Disappearance of a global cloud cover
81. Which was not part of the snowball earth process?
    1. Cooling due to reflection from ice cover
    2. Accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
    3. Rapid melting and sea level rise
    4. Deposition of limestone on top of glacial deposits
    5. Global warming due to biological methane
82. The largest subglacial lake in Antarctica is called:
    1. Lake Vostok
    2. Lake McMurdo
    3. Lake Baikal
    4. Lake Alpha
    5. Lake Antarctica
83. At the end of the Pleistocene, huge floods swept across Washington State, triggered by:
    1. Sudden melting of the glaciers as the climate warmed
    2. Melting due to subglacial volcanic eruptions
    3. Diversion of rivers
    4. Sudden drainage of glacially dammed lakes

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Created 1/2/1997; Last Update 13 December 2004

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