TERMIUM Plus®

The Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

ICE PENITENTE [1 record]

Record 1 2021-07-14

English

Subject field(s)
  • Glaciology
  • Geomorphology and Geomorphogeny
DEF

A spike or pillar of ... glacier ice caused by differential melting and evaporation.

CONT

Necessary for this formation are 1) air temperature near freezing; 2) dewpoint much below freezing; and 3) strong insolation. Consequently, penitent ice is most developed on low-latitude mountains, especially the Chilean Andes, but has been found in polar regions. Penitents are oriented individually toward the noonday sun, and usually occur in eastwest lines.

OBS

penitente: term of Spanish origin.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Glaciologie
  • Géomorphologie et géomorphogénie
DEF

Pointe de glace [...] ou de glacier causée par la fonte et l'évaporation.

CONT

Lorsque le champ de neige se trouve sur un glacier, les pénitents, au lieu de tomber et de disparaître à la fin de l'été, continuent à se creuser dans la glace du glacier. Les pénitents de glace ne diffèrent des pénitents de névé qu'en deux points : a) La glace étant imperméable, l'eau de fonte coule entre eux, formant des mares qui se couvrent de glace la nuit. b) La glace renferme plus souvent que la neige des strates d'impuretés.

Spanish

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