Glaciers

Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences,University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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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
Ice near the surface of a glacier exhibits ________behavior.
1. brittle
2. ductile
Ice deep within a glacier exhibits________behavior.
1. brittle
2. ductile
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
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
Most of the world's glacial ice is in:
1. mountain glaciers
2. the Antarctic Ice Cap
3. the Greenland Ice Cap
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
The result of a glacier flowing into the sea:
1. icebergs
2. ice shelves
3. both of the above
4. neither of the above
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Eskers probably form
1. when the ice is advancing
2. when the ice is retreating
When a continental glacier retreats
1. the entire ice front retreats smoothly
2. the ice never advances again
3. none of the above
You'd use these to map the former margins of a glacier
1. Eskers
2. Drumlins
3. Moraines
4. Kames
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
Which of these would indicate the former presence of a glacial lake?
1. Varved clay
2. Out wash sands
3. till
4. Loess
Least likely to be a feature of mountain glaciation
1. horn
2. arete
3. cirque
4. drumlin
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
The zone of accumulation is characterized by:
1. ablation
2. the thickest development of glacial ice
3. wastage
4. moraines
5. none of these
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
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
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
A medial moraine is developed:
1. on the side of a glacier
2. at the end of the glacier
3. none of these
4. in the middle of two coalesced glaciers
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The most recent ice age occurred during the:
1. Archean Eon
2. Cambrian Period
3. Pleistocene Epoch
4. Tertiary Period
5. Mesozoic Era
When ice flows over a rocky knob, it creates a landform:

How weathering is thought to affect ice ages:

The earth's natural Greenhouse Effect is mostly due to

When ice-dammed lakes drain, they usually drain

The number of ice advances during the Pleistocene was most likely:

The best record for the Pleistocene ice advances is contained

Marine evidence for ice advances and retreats includes

Evidence for the "snowball earth" climate variations is best seen in glacial deposits abruptly succeeded by:

Questions below refer to this diagram of a continental glacier.

Melt water flowing through the crevasses at A will most likely form:

The material deposited at B forms:

The material deposited by streams at C is termed:

The streams at C are most likely

The glacier's dome-like profile is due to:

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

The features at A are:

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
The features at B are ridges of sand and gravel. These are
1. Moraines
2. Drumlins
3. Cirques
4. Eskers
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
The features at C are streamlined hills of till, sand and gravel. These are:
1. Moraines
2. Drumlins
3. Cirques
4. Eskers
The features at C are streamlined hills of till, sand and gravel. They indicate

At D is a large isolated remnant of ice. When it melts it will probably form a:

The ice-dammed lake at E is probably depositing:

When the ice-dammed lake at E drains, it will probably do so:

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

A cirque occurs at (letter): -A- -B- -C- -D- -E-
A moraine occurs at (letter): -A- -B- -C- -D- -E-
A hanging valley occurs at (letter): -A- -B- -C- -D- -E-

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Created 1/2/1997; Last Update 26 September 2003

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