Which outcome arises when freeze-thaw cycles erode granite cirques?

💡 Explanation

Increased glacial headwall erosion results from repeated freeze-thaw within the cirque. The mechanism is frost wedging, where water expands when freezing, because this weakens rock, rather than stabilizing it; therefore increased erosion promotes overall mass wasting not alternative actions relating to sediment layers.

• Which outcome occurs when excessive sediment deposition obstructs proglacial lakes?
• Which phenomenon is intensified when the ascending branch of a Hadley cell overlaps with a warm ocean current?
• Which mechanism causes high-altitude subtropical streams (jet streams) to steer mid-latitude cyclonic storm systems?
• Which risk to coastal infrastructure increases when deep-sea earthquakes trigger underwater landslides near a subduction zone?
• Which consequence results when unimpeded longshore drift transports sediment?
• Which mechanism causes mass wasting on steep slopes underlain by thawing permafrost?