Cryosphere glossary

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katabatic wind

any wind blowing down an incline; if the wind is warm, it is called a foehn or chinook; if cold, it may be a fall wind (bora), or a gravity wind (mountain wind); the opposite of anabatic wind.

keel

the part of a ridge below the ocean surface; wind, ocean currents, and other forces can push sea ice into piles that rise and form small mountains below the level sea ice surface.

kinetic-growth metamorphism

snow metamorphism that builds angular facets on crystals and makes cup and scroll shaped crystals.

kurum

a general term for all types of coarse clastic formations on slopes of 2-3 to 40 degrees, moving downslope mainly due to creep.