Ablation

From DictionGloss

In medicine, the removal or destruction of a body part or tissue or its function. Ablation may be performed by surgery, hormones, drugs, radiofrequency, heat, or other methods.

Glacial ablation is all processes, which include melting, evaporation (sublimation), wind erosion, and calving (breaking off of ice masses), that remove snow or ice from a glacier or snowfield. The term also refers to the amount of snow or ice removed by these processes.