Which process causes the headwall of a cirque to steepen, leading to eventual enlargement?

💡 Explanation

When water freezes in bedrock fractures, frost wedging expands the cracks because ice has a larger volume than liquid water. Glacial plucking then removes loosened rocks. Therefore frost wedging coupled with glacial plucking steepens the cirque headwall, rather than chemical weathering, tectonic uplift, or sediment deposition which involve different mechanisms.

• Which effect increases as plastic debris accumulates in ocean gyres experiencing stratification?
• Which mechanism causes stepped topography to form along the valley floor downstream of a cirque?
• Which effect arises from the Coriolis force acting on large air masses descending at the subtropical latitudes creating?
• Which outcome occurs when coastal upwelling is significantly reduced due to decreased wind stress?
• Which consequence results when groundwater table fluctuates substantially in karst landscapes?
• Which effect accelerates downslope movement via solifluction in high-latitude permafrost regions?