the weathering of rock around a patch of snow by alternate freezing and thawing
Word origin
C19: from Latin nix, stem niv- snow
nivation in American English
(naiˈveiʃən)
noun
Geology
erosion resulting from the action of frost beneath a snowbank
Word origin
[1895–1900; ‹ L niv- (s. of nix) snow + -ation]This word is first recorded in the period 1895–1900. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: backwind, calling card, hit-and-run, neon, slapstick-ation is used to form nouns from stems ending in -ate (separation) and, on this model, to form nouns from stems of other origin (starvation). Other words that use the affix -ation include: concentration, neutralization, pagination, polarization, transportation
Examples of 'nivation' in a sentence
nivation
Nivation debris accumulates at the bottom of a rock face as scree.
Jilbert, John Geography Basic Facts (1983)
The alternate freezing and melting is known as nivation.