| Term: | Accumulation area |
| Definition: |
The part of a glacier that is perennially covered with snow.
Accumulation area is the upper region of a glacier where snow accumulation exceeds melting. A line that marks the limit on a mountain above which snow persists from one winter to the next is called the annual snowline, and this line on a glacier is called the firnline. Above the firnline, snow that falls each year packs down and changes into glacier ice as air is slowly forced out of it. This part of the glacier is its accumulation area where more snow falls each year than is lost by melting. Below the firnline is the ablation area, where melting predominates. A synonym of accumulation zone. IHPGlacierMassBalance That part of a glacier's surface, usually at higher elevations, on which there is net accumulation of snow, which subsequently turns into firn and then glacier ice. Swisseduc That portion of the glacier surface above the firn line where the accumulation exceeds ablation; the opposite of ablation area. AMSglossary GCW |