Geography A-Level
Mass balance
What Mass balance means in Geography A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Mass balance
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Reference: AQA
The balance between accumulation as inputs and ablation as outputs, which is positive when accumulation exceeds ablation and negative when ablation exceeds accumulation.
A simple calculation of net change found by subtracting total system outputs from total system inputs.
The annual difference between total accumulation and total ablation, also called the glacial budget.
Topics that use Mass balance
- Quantitative and qualitative skills (AQA A-Level)
- Systems and processes (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- Ablation
- Accumulation
- Climate change impacts
- Cold-based glaciers
- Data presentation
- Meltwater dynamics
- Nivation
- Sediment sorting and stratification
Using Mass balance in the exam
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