Glacio-fluvial sediment transfer. An applied perspective / Гляцио-флювиальный (ледниково-водный) транспорт осадочного материала. Прикладные перспективы

Glaciated alpine areas form a fascinating basis for studying environmental processes. Glaciers can be found at virtually any latitude on the globe where the mountains are high enough and the moisture supply large enough to promote permanent ice cover. Figure 1.1 provides a schematic representation of the way in which the variables of altitude, latitude and climate interact to provide regional thresholds above which glaciers may occur. Thus, in mountainous areas in maritime climatic zones and in higher latitudes, glacier snouts will frequently extend to sea level, whereas in the arid continental areas of the tropics, permanent ice and snow cover can occur only at very high altitudes. The presence or absence of glaciers in a drainage basin above the regional threshold will, of course, depend on other local factors, notably the size, orientation and slope of the basin and the way that these interact with larger scale patterns of precipitation and insolation, to control moisture inputs to the basin and losses through ablation, evaporation and runoff and thus the rate of movement and the mass balance of areas of ice or snow within the basin. The significance of these local characteristics will also vary with macro-climate as it is affected by latitude and altitude and will affect the dynamism of the glacial system. <...>