Ablation zone

Ablation zone refers to the low altitude area of a glacier or ice sheet where there is a net loss in ice mass due to melting, sublimation, evaporation, or calving. The ablation zone is delineated by the equilibrium line altitude (ELA), or snow line, which separates the ablation zone and the high altitude accumulation zone. The ablation zone often contains meltwater features such as supraglacial, englacial, and subglacial streams. The seasonally melting glacier deposits much sediment at its fringes in the ablation area. Ablation constitutes a key part of the glacier mass balance.

Glacier mass balance is determined by the amount of snow and ice gained in the winter in the accumulation zone, and by the amount of ice melted or calved in the ablation zone. Often mass balance measurements are made in the ablation zone using snow stakes.

See also

• Glaciers
• Accumulation zone
• Glacier mass balance

External links

Diagram with zone of ablation

References

• Summerfield, M. A., (1991) Global Geomorphology Longman.
• Dolgoff, A., (1996) Physical Geology Heath