Ablation

Ablation is taking away or removal of something through an action of humans or of nature. It is a technical term for removal.

In medical science, ablation is the removal of body tissues through surgical operation.

In the nature, it is removal of snow or ice by the natural phenomena of melting or evaporation, especially in case of a glacier or iceberg. Erosion of rocks due to action of winds, or loss of surface material from a meteorite due to atmospheric friction etc are other examples of ablation.

Sometimes, removal of surface material from an aircraft due to friction with wind is also called ablation.