Which process primarily initiates cirque formation in glaciated alpine regions with pre-existing weaknesses?

💡 Explanation

When a glacier occupies a bowl-shaped depression, frost wedging occurs because the repetitive freezing and thawing of water within bedrock joints mechanically weathers the rock, thereby enlarging the depression into a cirque. Therefore, frost wedging initiates cirque formation, rather than abrasion, deposition or chemical weathering which require distinct environmental conditions and locations.

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