noun
glacial erosion; glacial scouring; glacial abrasion
Geological term for the wearing away of rock and soil by moving glaciers.
氷食によってU字谷が形成される。
U-shaped valleys are formed by glacial erosion.
この地形は氷食の跡を示している。
This landscape shows traces of glacial scouring.
Compound of 氷 (ice/glacier) and 食 (erosion/eating away). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term follows the pattern of other geological erosion compounds.