 Ablation zone

Ablation zone or "ablation area" refers to the low-altitude area of a glacier or ice sheet below firn with a net loss in ice mass due to melting, sublimation, evaporation, ice calving, aeolian processes like blowing snow, avalanche, and any other ablation.The equilibrium line altitude (ELA) or snow line separates the ablation zone from the higher-altitude accumulation zone.