"A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. It forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. "
A large body of ice that flows under its own weight due to gravity.
Glacier Types: There are several types of glaciers, including valley glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets. Understanding the differences between them is important for understanding how they form, how they move, and their impact on the environment.
Glacier Formation: Glaciers form over long periods of time through the accumulation and compaction of snow. Understanding the different factors that influence glacier formation, such as temperature and precipitation, is essential.
Glacier Movement: Glaciers move due to the force of gravity, but the speed and direction of their movement can be influenced by a variety of external factors, such as temperature and topography.
Glacial Erosion: Glaciers can cause significant erosion of the surrounding landscape as they move, including the formation of U-shaped valleys and other distinct geological features.
Glacial Deposition: As glaciers move, they also deposit sediment and debris, which can form distinctive landforms such as moraines, drumlins, and eskers.
Glacier Mass Balance: The mass balance of a glacier refers to the balance between snow accumulation and melt. Understanding how this balance changes over time is essential for understanding the long-term effects of climate change on glaciers.
Glacier Hydrology: Glaciers can have a significant impact on hydrological systems, including the formation of lakes and rivers, and can affect the availability of freshwater resources in the surrounding area.
Glacial Retreat: Glaciers around the world are currently experiencing significant retreat due to climate change. Understanding the causes and effects of this retreat is essential for understanding the potential consequences for the environment and human communities.
Glacier Monitoring and Management: Monitoring and managing glaciers is essential for understanding their behavior and mitigating the impacts of glacial retreat on the environment and human communities. This includes using remote sensing technologies and climate models to monitor changes in glacier mass, and developing management strategies to protect freshwater resources and ecosystem services.
Alpine glacier: A glacier that is formed on or near mountains.
Continental glacier: Huge glaciers that cover a large area of land or whole continent.
Piedmont glacier: A very large glacier formed when one or more valley glaciers emerge from a mountain range and spread out onto a broad plain.
Ice sheet: A vast expanse of ice and snow that covers large areas of the Earth's surface.
Ice cap: Smaller than ice sheets, ice caps are dome-shaped ice masses covering mountains and plateaus.
Hanging glacier: A glacier that clings to the side of a mountain from a higher elevation than the valley floor.
Tidewater glacier: A glacier that reaches the sea and discharges ice directly into the ocean.
Outlet glacier: A glacier that flows outwards from an ice cap or an ice sheet.
Cirque glacier: A small glacier occupying a Cirque, i.e. a bowl-shaped hollow in the mountainside.
Glacieret: A small-scale glacier, typically found in high-altitude areas or mountainous regions.
Rock glacier: A glacier that contains a large amount of rock and debris in its ice, causing it to move slower compared to typical glaciers.
Valley glacier: A glacier that flows in a valley, usually originating from a cirque glacier.
Ice stream: A fast-moving section of an ice sheet that flows between slower-moving ice.
Roche moutonnée: A glacial rock formation created by the erosion by moving ice.
Moraine: A deposit of sediment left behind by a glacier, typically forming ridges or mounds.
"Although a glacier may flow into a body of water, it forms only on land and is distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water."
"On Earth, 99% of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets (also known as 'continental glaciers') in the polar regions."
"Glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on every continent other than the Australian mainland, including Oceania's high-latitude oceanic island countries such as New Zealand."
"Between latitudes 35°N and 35°S, glaciers occur only in the Himalayas, Andes, and a few high mountains in East Africa, Mexico, New Guinea, and on Zard-Kuh in Iran."
"With more than 7,000 known glaciers, Pakistan has more glacial ice than any other country outside the polar regions."
"Glaciers cover about 10% of Earth's land surface."
"Continental glaciers cover nearly 13 million km2 (5 million sq mi) or about 98% of Antarctica's 13.2 million km2 (5.1 million sq mi)."
"The average thickness of ice in Antarctica's ice sheets is 2,100 m (7,000 ft)."
"The volume of glaciers, not including the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, has been estimated at 170,000 km3."
"Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, holding with ice sheets about 69 percent of the world's freshwater."
"Many glaciers from temperate, alpine, and seasonal polar climates store water as ice during the colder seasons and release it later in the form of meltwater as warmer summer temperatures cause the glacier to melt."
"A glacier acquires distinguishing features, such as crevasses and seracs, as it slowly flows and deforms under stresses induced by its weight."
"As it moves, a glacier abrades rock and debris from its substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords."
"A large piece of compressed ice, or a glacier, appears blue, as large quantities of water appear blue. This is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue."
"The other reason for the blue color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles. Air bubbles, which give a white color to ice, are squeezed out by pressure increasing the created ice's density."
"Since glacial mass is affected by long-term climatic changes, e.g., precipitation, mean temperature, and cloud cover, glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change."
"Glacial mass changes are a major source of variations in sea level."
"However, within high-altitude and Antarctic environments, the seasonal temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater."
"Glacier meltwater is a water source that is especially important for plants, animals, and human uses when other sources may be scant."