Glacial ablation is the term for a loss of glacial mass in terms of

Question

Glacial ablation is the term for a loss of glacial mass in terms of ice. Ablation rates vary based on a wide number of factors, one of which is submarine melt: ice loss due to contact between the glacier and seawater. While factors such as air temperature, precipitation, and snow accumulation play significant roles, glacial ablation along coastlines tends to proceed at its greatest rate when warm ocean currents come into contact with the base of the glacier and produce a high degree of submarine melt. Warm ocean currents along glacial coastline areas increase in frequency as overall ocean temperatures rise.

Which of the following can be most readily inferred from the information in the passage?

A. Regions with the greatest rate of glacial ablation have the greatest proximity to the strongest warm ocean currents.

B. Very few glaciers in regions without warm ocean currents suffer from high rates of glacial ablation.

C. Glacial ablation due to submarine melt rates was lower on average during periods of lower overall ocean temperatures.

D. Submarine melt rates have become an important factor to glacial ablation only with the onset of global climactic shifts.

E. The lower the overall ocean temperature, the more likely that factors such as snow accumulation are to play a significant role in glacial ablation.

desertEagle · Answer

Argument 
Ablation rate depend on many factors including submarine melt. Greater the temperature of warm currents, greater is submarine melt and hence higher the ablation.

Question Type 
Inference. Find a statement which is true based on above argument.

A. Regions with the greatest rate of glacial ablation have the greatest proximity to the strongest warm ocean currents. - Greatest rate of glacial ablation can be determined only when we combine the effect of all factors which play a role in ablation(according to passage, these are many).  So, it is quite possible that even if the region has greatest proximity to strongest warm ocean currents, greatest rate of glacial ablation may be determined by any other factor which plays a major role in ablation. So, we need to stretch the logic too far to reach at this conclusion. It is possible but not certain. --> Wrong

B. Very few glaciers in regions without warm ocean currents suffer from high rates of glacial ablation. -->  Again similar problem as in A. Conclusion is far fetched. May be the wind was very powerful and broke a glacier. Possible but not certain. Need many assumptions to make it true --> WRong
 
C. Glacial ablation due to submarine melt rates was lower on average during periods of lower overall ocean temperatures. -->  So, it says that when ocean temperature was low, there was lesser average ablation. This seems quite correct as submarine melt is only a factor and if temperature rises and warm ocean currents become more frequent, the glaciers will be affected and on an average ablation will increase -->  CORRECT

D. Submarine melt rates have become an important factor to glacial ablation only with the onset of global climactic shifts. -->  It does not indicate if global climactic shift is increase or decrease in temperature. Thinking that a global climactic shift means only increase in temperature is far fetched. --> Wrong

E. The lower the overall ocean temperature, the more likely that factors such as snow accumulation are to play a significant role in glacial ablation. -->  It talks about a new factor (snow accumulation) and does not talk about submarine melt. The argument is primarily about submarine melt. --> Out of Scope --> Wrong

VerbalBot · Answer

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Glacial ablation is the term for a loss of glacial mass in terms of

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