Ice stream network
Ice stream networks are created when the valley glaciers of a mountainous country grow so much that they flow over the lowest notches of the dividing mountain ranges and thus connect with one another. Such notches are called transfluence passes, they are often sanded off and lowered by means of deterrence .
Glaciated mountains can be classified as follows:
- The mountains can dominate, then the valley glaciers follow the mountain profile and the mostly fluvial valleys.
- The glaciation can dominate, then the ice masses completely cover the mountains and one speaks of an ice cap or an ice sheet .
- In between there is a medium degree of glaciation with ice flow networks.
During the glacial period there were extensive ice flow networks in the Alps , from which only the higher peaks than Nunatakker protruded.
The corresponding English technical term is “Dendritic glacier”, which shows that there is no direct connection to the technical term “ ice stream ”, because this is a literal translation of the English term “ice stream” - for ice streams in this sense these are fast-flowing areas within the ice sheets.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ralf Sube: German Dictionary of Physics. Langenscheidt Fachverlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 0-415-17338-8 , p. 368 ( Google books )