ablation zone

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In glacier: Mass balance
…the superimposed-ice zone is the ablation zone, in which annual loss exceeds the gain by snowfall. The boundary between the accumulation and ablation zones is called the equilibrium line.
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In glacier: Surface features
…features are characteristic of the ablation zone. Below icefalls (steep reaches of a valley glacier), several types of curved bands can be seen. The surface of the glacier may rise and fall in a periodic manner, with the spacing between wave crests approximately equal to the amount of ice flow…
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