Morphometry of Glacial Cirques in the Central spanish Pyrenees |
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Authors: | José M García–Ruiz Amelia Gómez–Villar Luis Ortigosa & Carlos Martí–Bono |
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Institution: | Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain,;Department of Geography, University of Leon, Leon, Spain,;Department of Geography, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain |
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Abstract: | A total of 206 glacial cirques have been identified in the high valleys of the Aragón and Gállego rivers, Central Spanish Pyrenees, in order to study the environmental factors explaining their distribution (altitude, aspect, lithology) and diverse morphometric features (area, width, length, L/W relations, etc.). The use of bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses confirms that a part of the morphometric variability of the glacial cirques is explained by the environmental factors considered here, but their influence is relatively limited. Altitude is identified as the most important factor, affecting both the length and the degree of over–deepening of the cirques. The role of lithology is less obvious because of its interaction with altitude. |
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Keywords: | glacial cirques cirque morphometry cirque distribution cirque classification Pyrenees |
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