C2 · 50 words
Glaciology in Spanish
How ice is made, how it moves, and how its loss is measured.
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From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
A glacier is a budget kept in ice: what falls at the top against what melts at the bottom, with everything in between decided by that difference. Halfway down is la boca del glaciar, the opening where the meltwater stream comes out, and la boca is a word Spanish sends a long way from any face. It is the mouth of a person or an animal. It is the mouth of a river, la boca del Ebro, and the opening of a cave, a tunnel or a glacier. In a city it is la boca de metro, the staircase down into the underground, and la boca de incendios, the hydrant on the pavement. And it is the opening of a jar or a bottle. English uses « mouth » for the first two, then changes to « entrance », « hydrant » and « neck ». Spanish asks only whether something goes in or comes out.
The words
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Phrase (49)
el balance de masasthe mass balancePhraseC2
El balance de masas se mide al final del verano.The mass balance is the one number that decides everything else.
la zona de acumulaciónthe zone of accumulationPhraseC2
La zona de acumulación gana nieve todos los años.The zone of accumulation gains more snow than it loses.
la zona de ablaciónthe zone of ablationPhraseC2
La zona de ablación pierde más de lo que recibe.The zone of ablation loses more than it gains.
la línea de equilibriothe equilibrium linePhraseC2
La línea de equilibrio sube unos metros cada década.The equilibrium line moves up the mountain in a warm year.
la nieve vieja transformadathe old snow that has changedPhraseC2
La nieve vieja transformada pesa el doble que la reciente.Old snow that has changed is no longer snow and not yet ice.
la densificación del hielothe densifying of the icePhraseC2
La densificación del hielo expulsa el aire poco a poco.The densifying of the ice squeezes the air out slowly.
la burbuja de aire atrapadathe trapped air bubblePhraseC2
La burbuja de aire atrapada guarda la atmósfera de entonces.A trapped air bubble is a sample of the atmosphere of its year.
la perforación profunda en el hielothe deep core drilled in the icePhraseC2
La perforación profunda en el hielo alcanza capas de milenios.A deep core drilled in the ice is read downwards through time.
la capa anual visiblethe visible annual layerPhraseC2
La capa anual visible permite contar hacia atrás.A visible annual layer can be counted like a tree ring.
la lengua glaciarthe glacier tonguePhraseC2
La lengua glaciar termina hoy medio kilómetro más arriba.The glacier tongue reaches lower than anything around it.
el frente del glaciarthe snout of the glacierPhraseC2
El frente del glaciar se fotografía desde el mismo punto cada año.The snout of the glacier is where its year is settled.
el retroceso del frentethe retreat of the snoutPhraseC2
El retroceso del frente se mide en metros por año.The retreat of the snout is measured from a fixed point on the rock.
la velocidad de flujo del hielothe speed at which the ice flowsPhraseC2
La velocidad de flujo del hielo es mayor en el centro.The speed at which the ice flows is greatest in the middle.
la deformación plástica del hielothe plastic deformation of the icePhraseC2
La deformación plástica del hielo ocurre bajo su propio peso.The plastic deformation of the ice happens without any breaking.
el deslizamiento sobre el lechothe sliding over the bedPhraseC2
El deslizamiento sobre el lecho se acelera con agua de deshielo.Sliding over the bed needs water underneath.
la grieta transversalthe transverse crevassePhraseC2
La grieta transversal se abre donde la pendiente aumenta.A transverse crevasse opens where the slope steepens.
el puente de nieve sobre la grietathe snow bridge over the crevassePhraseC2
El puente de nieve sobre la grieta aguanta hasta que no aguanta.A snow bridge over the crevasse hides it and holds nothing.
la cascada de seracsthe icefall of seracsPhraseC2
La cascada de seracs se cruza de madrugada.An icefall of seracs rearranges itself every summer.
el cordón de derrubios en el bordethe ridge of debris along the edgePhraseC2
El cordón de derrubios en el borde marca el nivel de hace un siglo.A ridge of debris along the edge marks where the ice once reached.
la morrena frontalthe terminal morainePhraseC2
La morrena frontal encierra a veces un lago.A terminal moraine is the farthest the ice ever got.
el lago proglaciarthe lake in front of the glacierPhraseC2
El lago proglaciar crece a medida que el hielo se retira.The lake in front of the glacier grows as the ice goes.
el vaciado brusco del lagothe sudden emptying of the lakePhraseC2
El vaciado brusco del lago arrasa el valle en una hora.The sudden emptying of the lake reaches the valley in hours.
el torrente subglaciarthe stream under the glacierPhraseC2
El torrente subglaciar sale por la boca del glaciar.The stream under the glacier carries away what the ice ground up.
la boca del glaciarthe mouth of the glacierPhraseC2
La boca del glaciar cambia de sitio cada temporada.At the mouth of the glacier the water comes out grey.
la harina de rocathe rock flourPhraseC2
La harina de roca da al agua ese color lechoso.Rock flour is what gives a glacial lake its colour.
el perfil transversal en forma de uthe u-shaped cross sectionPhraseC2
El perfil transversal en forma de u delata un glaciar desaparecido.A u-shaped cross section tells you ice was here, not a river.
la cabecera donde nace el hielothe head where the ice is bornPhraseC2
La cabecera donde nace el hielo es donde empezó todo.The head where the ice is born is the highest and the coldest.
la roca pulida por el hielothe rock polished by the icePhraseC2
La roca pulida por el hielo brilla al sol.Rock polished by the ice is smooth in one direction only.
la marca de arrastre en la rocathe scratch left by what was draggedPhraseC2
La marca de arrastre en la roca indica la dirección del movimiento.A scratch left by what was dragged points the way the ice went.
la piedra transportada por el glaciarthe stone carried by the glacierPhraseC2
La piedra transportada por el glaciar viajó decenas de kilómetros.A stone carried by the glacier can be miles from its own bedrock.
el permafrost de montañathe mountain permafrostPhraseC2
El permafrost de montaña sostiene paredes enteras.Mountain permafrost is the ground that has not thawed for years.
la degradación del permafrostthe thawing of the permafrostPhraseC2
La degradación del permafrost multiplica los desprendimientos.The thawing of the permafrost loosens slopes that held for centuries.
el glaciar rocosothe rock glacierPhraseC2
El glaciar rocoso avanza centímetros al año.A rock glacier moves slowly and looks like scree.
la nieve penitentethe snow bladePhraseC2
La nieve penitente se forma con sol muy vertical.A snow blade stands where the sun carves and the air is dry.
el albedo de la superficiethe albedo of the surfacePhraseC2
El albedo de la superficie cae cuando el hielo se ensucia.The albedo of the surface decides how much of the sun stays.
el polvo depositado sobre el hielothe dust settled on the icePhraseC2
El polvo depositado sobre el hielo acelera el deshielo.Dust settled on the ice darkens it and speeds up the melt.
la lámina de cobertura protectorathe protective cover sheetPhraseC2
La lámina de cobertura protectora salva unos metros de pista.A protective cover sheet is spread over a ski slope and not over a glacier.
la estaca de ablaciónthe ablation stakePhraseC2
La estaca de ablación mide cuánto hielo se ha ido.An ablation stake measures the melt against a fixed length.
el radar de penetración en hielothe ice-penetrating radarPhraseC2
El radar de penetración en hielo da el espesor sin perforar.Ice-penetrating radar finds the bed without touching it.
el espesor del hielothe thickness of the icePhraseC2
El espesor del hielo alcanza aquí ciento veinte metros.The thickness of the ice was guessed at for a century before it was measured.
el seguimiento por satélite del contornothe satellite tracking of the outlinePhraseC2
El seguimiento por satélite del contorno sustituye a la visita anual.The satellite tracking of the outline does in a week what took a season.
el inventario mundial de glaciaresthe world inventory of glaciersPhraseC2
El inventario mundial de glaciares se actualiza por comarcas.The world inventory of glaciers counts what is there now.
la aportación al caudal en veranothe contribution to summer flowPhraseC2
La aportación al caudal en verano es lo que se pierde primero.The contribution to summer flow is what a dry valley lives on.
el pico de escorrentía adelantadothe runoff peak arriving earlierPhraseC2
El pico de escorrentía adelantado desajusta el riego de todo el valle.A runoff peak arriving earlier leaves the summer drier.
el agua de deshielo como reservathe meltwater as a storePhraseC2
El agua de deshielo como reserva desaparece con el glaciar.Meltwater as a store is a savings account that is being closed.
la fotografía comparada de épocathe photograph compared with an old onePhraseC2
La fotografía comparada de época convence más que una cifra.A photograph compared with an old one needs the same spot and the same month.
el glaciar declarado extintothe glacier declared gonePhraseC2
El glaciar declarado extinto conserva el nombre en el mapa.A glacier declared gone has stopped moving, which is the test.
la placa conmemorativa en la rocathe plaque set into the rockPhraseC2
La placa conmemorativa en la roca marca dónde acababa el hielo.The plaque set into the rock names a glacier and a date.
el hito histórico del avancethe marker left by an earlier advancePhraseC2
El hito histórico del avance está a mil metros del hielo actual.A marker left by an earlier advance stands where nothing has been for a hundred years.
Noun (f) (1)
Grammar for these: Masculine or feminine · The plural
la rimayathe bergschrundNoun (f)C2
La rimaya separa el hielo en movimiento del que no se mueve.The bergschrund separates the moving ice from what is frozen to the wall.
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This list belongs to Nature and natural sciences — 31 lists and 1 550 words that can also be practised as a whole.