Which of the following statements about glaciers is not true?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Let’s break down the statement options one by one in relation to glaciers and climate.
Option 1: 'In the summer, meltwater streams are common in the lower reaches of glaciers' This is generally true. Lower elevations of glaciers often experience surface melting during warm summer conditions, creating melt streams and englacial channels that transport meltwater downslope and contribute to mass balance dynamics.
Option 2: 'Glaciers are more reflective than many other types of earth surfaces' This is true. Glaciers have high albedo due to fresh, clean ice and snow cover, reflecting a larger portion of incoming solar radiation compared to bare rock or soil, which helps influence local energy balance.
Option 3: 'Glaciers are strongly connected to the overall hydrologic cycle' This is true. Glaciers store freshwater as ice and release it seasonally through melt, feeding rivers and groundwater and interacting with atmospheric moisture and precipitation patterns as part of the global hydrologic system.
Option 4: 'Glaciers are insensitive to local climate and do not respond to climate change' This is not true. Glaciers are highly sensitive to climate variables such as temperature and precipitation. Warming temperatures promote melting and retreat, while changes in snowfall affect accumulation, so glaciers respond noticeably to climate change.
Option 5: 'The ice moves forward, but the ice front can melt back faster than the ice moves forward' This describes a common dynamic observed in glacier termini: flow and advance are opposed by ablation at the front, so a retreating terminus occurs when meltback outpaces forward ice velocity, making this statement accurate in many glacier systems.
In summary, the only statement that is not true is that glaciers are insensitive to local climate and do not respond to climate change; glaciers do respond strongly to climate forcing, which makes Option 4 the correct choice for a 'not true' statement.

GEOL1104851.1251 ESS Lab Final Exam

Which of the following statements about glaciers is not true?

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