Cryosphere glossary
snowpack
the total snow and ice on the ground, including both new snow and the previous snow and ice which have not melted.
snowstorm
strong wind with snow.
soil wedge
a wedge-shaped body of soil that is different in structure and texture from the surrounding soil.
solar radiation
the total electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun.
solifluction
slow downslope flow of saturated unfrozen earth materials.
solifluction apron
a fan-like deposit at the base of a slope, produced by solifluction.
solifluction features
geomorphological features of varying scale produced by the process of solifluction.
solifluction lobe
an isolated, tongue-shaped solifluction feature, up to 25 meters (27 yards) wide and 150 meters (164 yards) or more long; formed by more rapid solifluction on certain sections of a slope showing variations in gradient.
solifluction sheet
a broad deposit of nonsorted, water-saturated, locally derived materials that is moving or has moved downslope.
solifluction terrace
a low step, or bench, with a straight or lobate front, the latter reflecting local differences in the rate of solifluction movement.
solstice
the point in time when the vertical rays of the sun are striking either the Tropic of Cancer (23 degrees, 30 minutes N, the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere) or the Tropic of Capricorn (23 degrees, 30 minutes S, the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere); represents the longest or shortest day of the year; in the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice falls on or about 21 June, and the winter solstice on or about 22 December.
sorted circle
a patterned ground form that is equidimensional in several directions, with a dominantly circular outline, and a sorted appearance commonly due to a border of stones surrounding a central area of finer material.
sorted net
a type of patterned ground with cells that are equidimensional in several directions, neither dominantly circular nor polygonal, with a sorted appearance commonly due to borders of stones surrounding central areas of finer material.
sorted polygon
a patterned ground form that is equidimensional in several directions, with a dominantly polygonal outline, and a sorted appearance commonly due to a border of stones surrounding a central area of finer material.
sorted step
a patterned ground feature with a step-like form and a downslope border of stones embanking an area of relatively fine-grained bare ground upslope.
sorted stripe
patterned ground with a striped and sorted appearance, due to parallel strips of stones and intervening strips of finer material, oriented down the steepest available slope.
south pole
90° S latitude; one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface (the other being the north pole, diametrically opposite).
specific heat capacity
the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree.
specific humidity
the mass of water vapor per unit mass of air, including the water vapor (usually expressed as grams of water vapor per kilogram of air).
splay crevasse
a crevasse pattern that forms where ice slowly spreads out sideways; commonly found near a glacier terminus.