On a glacier, the zone of ablation or zone of wastage is the area in which annual loss of snow through melting, evaporation, iceberg calving and sublimation exceeds annual gain of snow and ice on the surface. Of these, melting is most important in most glaciers, but the others, especially iceberg calving, can be significant. Spatially, the zone of ablation can be identified as the part of the glacier below the snowline. The ablation zone often contains meltwater features such as supraglacial, englacial and subglacial streams. It is also an area where much sediment is deposited at the fringes of the glacier. Ablation in a glacier is a key part of the glacier mass balance. A glacier is a large, persistent body of ice, formed largely of compacted layers of snow, that slowly deforms and flows in response to gravity. ... In physics, melting is the process of heating a solid substance to a point (called the melting point) where it turns into a liquid. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Sublimation has three separate meanings: Sublimation (physics), the change from solid to gas without passing the liquid state Sublimation (psychology), the transformation of emotions Dye sublimation, the transference of printed images to a synthetic substrate by the application of heat Category: ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Global glacial mass balance in the last fifty years, reported to the WGMS and NSIDC. The downward trend in the late 1980s is symptomatic of the increased rate and number of retreating glaciers. ...

See also

• Glaciers
• Accumulation zone
• Glacier mass balance

Austrias longest glacier, the Pasterze, winds its 8 km (5 mile) route at the foot of Austrias highest mountain, the Grossglockner A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ... On a glacier, the accumulation zone is the area above the firn line, where snowfall accumulates and exceeds the losses from ablation, (melting, evaporation, and sublimation). ... Global glacial mass balance in the last fifty years, reported to the WGMS and NSIDC. The downward trend in the late 1980s is symptomatic of the increased rate and number of retreating glaciers. ...

External links

• Diagram with zone of ablation

References

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