Paraglacial: Difference between revisions

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Paraglacial means unstable conditions^[1] caused by a significant relaxation time in processes and geomorphic patterns following glacial climates.^[2] Rates of landscape change and sediment output from the system are typically elevated during paraglacial landscape response.

When a large mass of ice melts, the newly exposed landscape is free of vegetation and is generally unstable. Often times, the retreating glacial is providing the area with high stream discharge, further increasing erosion. The combination of a lack of vegetation, high discharge, and a changing climate (the cause of deglaciation) forces ecological communities, sediment deposition patterns and surface morphology to adjust to the new conditions over time.

Periglacial processes—those that directly involve ice—may be prominent in the early stages of paraglacial landscape response, but the two terms are not synonymous. Many geomorphic processes that don't require freezing conditions—for example fluvial erosion, transport and deposition—are typically involved in paraglacial change.

References

^ Renwick, W.H. 1992: Equilibrium, disequilibrium, and nonequilibrium landforms in the landscape. Geomorphology 5, 265-76
^ Church, Michael and June M Ryder, Paraglacial Sedimentation: A Consideration of Fluvial Processes Conditioned by Glaciation, GSA Bulletin; October 1972; v. 83; no. 10; p. 3059-3072

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[1] Renwick, W.H. 1992: Equilibrium, disequilibrium, and nonequilibrium landforms in the landscape. Geomorphology 5, 265-76

[2] Church, Michael and June M Ryder, Paraglacial Sedimentation: A Consideration of Fluvial Processes Conditioned by Glaciation, GSA Bulletin; October 1972; v. 83; no. 10; p. 3059-3072

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 {{distinguish|Periglacial}}
-'''Paraglacial''' means unstable conditions (as defined by Renwick, 1992<ref>Renwick, W.H. 1992: Equilibrium, disequilibrium, and nonequilibrium landforms in the landscape. Geomorphology 5, 265-76</ref>) caused by a significant relaxation time in processes and [[geomorphology|geomorphic]] patterns following glacial climates.<ref>Church, Michael and June M Ryder, ''Paraglacial Sedimentation: A Consideration of Fluvial Processes Conditioned by Glaciation,'' GSA Bulletin; October 1972; v. 83; no. 10; p. 3059-3072</ref> Rates of landscape change and sediment output from the system are typically elevated during paraglacial landscape response.
+'''Paraglacial''' means unstable conditions<ref>Renwick, W.H. 1992: Equilibrium, disequilibrium, and nonequilibrium landforms in the landscape. Geomorphology 5, 265-76</ref> caused by a significant relaxation time in processes and [[geomorphology|geomorphic]] patterns following glacial climates.<ref>Church, Michael and June M Ryder, ''Paraglacial Sedimentation: A Consideration of Fluvial Processes Conditioned by Glaciation,'' GSA Bulletin; October 1972; v. 83; no. 10; p. 3059-3072</ref> Rates of landscape change and sediment output from the system are typically elevated during paraglacial landscape response.
 When a large mass of ice melts, the newly exposed landscape is free of vegetation and is generally unstable.  Often times, the retreating glacial is providing the area with high stream discharge, further increasing erosion.  The combination of a lack of vegetation, high discharge, and a changing climate (the cause of deglaciation) forces [[Biocoenosis|ecological communities]], sediment [[Deposition (sediment)|deposition]] patterns and surface morphology to adjust to the new conditions over time.
-[[Periglacial]] processes - those which directly involve ice - may be prominent in the early stages of paraglacial landscape response, but the two terms are not synonymous. Many geomorphic processes which do not demand the presence of freezing conditions, for example fluvial erosion, transport and deposition, are typically involved in paraglacial change.
+[[Periglacial]] processes—those that directly involve ice—may be prominent in the early stages of paraglacial landscape response, but the two terms are not synonymous. Many geomorphic processes that don't require freezing conditions—for example fluvial erosion, transport and deposition—are typically involved in paraglacial change.
 ==See also==