"In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km2."
A mass of glacial ice that covers more than 50,000 square kilometers of land.
Glacial cycles: The theory and evidence of ice ages and interglacial periods throughout Earth's history.
Glacial Mass Balance: The balance between accumulation and ablation of ice, including the measurement and modelling of these processes.
Glacial isostatic adjustment: The way that the solid Earth's response to changing ice loads, resulting in vertical and horizontal motions of the crust.
Glacier hydrology: The study of water movement within and beneath glaciers, including the formation and behaviour of ice dams, meltwater channels and subglacial lakes.
Glacier dynamics: The movement of ice and the forces involved, including basal sliding, internal deformation and surging.
Glacier and Ice Sheets modelling: The use of mathematical models to simulate and predict the behaviour of ice sheets under different environmental conditions and scenarios.
Glacier retreat: The study of the rapid decline of glaciers and ice sheets, as well as the impact of climatic changes.
Glacier tourism: The study of the impact that tourism has on glaciers, including environmental impacts, potential risks, and community involvement.
Ice core and paleoclimate: The use of ice cores to study past climate changes, including atmospheric composition, temperature variations, and the extent of glaciations.
Glacial geology: The study of glacial deposits and landforms, including moraines, drumlins, and eskers, providing information on glacial dynamics and environmental conditions.
Glacial ecology: The study of the interactions between glaciers and the surrounding ecosystems, including glacial meltwater, microbial life, and wildlife.
Glaciated landscapes: The creation and characteristics of landscapes covered by glacial ice, including fjords, cirques, and U-shaped valleys.
Continental ice sheets: These are massive sheets of ice that cover entire continents or large areas of land. They are typically found in Antarctica and Greenland.
Alpine glaciers: These are smaller glaciers that form in mountainous regions. They flow down valleys and usually end in a valley or at the base of a mountain.
Ice caps: These are smaller ice sheets that cover less than 50,000 square kilometers. They are typically found in polar regions and high mountain areas.
Ice shelves: These are sheets of ice that float on the ocean's surface but are attached to land at their edges. They are typically found in Antarctica and Greenland.
Piedmont glaciers: These are glaciers that flow down a mountain slope and spread out in a fan-like shape at their base.
Outlet glaciers: These are glaciers that flow from an ice sheet and into the ocean. They can be fast-moving and can contribute to rising sea levels.
Ice streams: These are narrow, fast-flowing channels of ice that are often found within continental ice sheets.
Ice domes: These are rounded mounds of ice that form in the center of an ice sheet. They are often the thickest part of the ice sheet and can reach up to several kilometers in height.
"The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland."
"During the Last Glacial Period at Last Glacial Maximum, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered much of North America."
"The Weichselian ice sheet covered Northern Europe."
"The Patagonian Ice Sheet covered southern South America."
"Ice sheets are bigger than ice shelves or alpine glaciers."
"Masses of ice covering less than 50,000 km2 are termed an ice cap."
"An ice cap will typically feed a series of glaciers around its periphery."
"Although the surface is cold, the base of an ice sheet is generally warmer due to geothermal heat."
"In places, melting occurs and the melt-water lubricates the ice sheet so that it flows more rapidly."
"This process produces fast-flowing channels in the ice sheet — these are ice streams."
"The present-day polar ice sheets are relatively young in geological terms."
"The Antarctic Ice Sheet first formed as a small ice cap (maybe several) in the early Oligocene, 33.9-23.0 Ma."
"The Antarctic Ice Sheet...retreated and advanced many times until the Pliocene, 5.33-2.58Ma when it came to occupy almost all of Antarctica."
"The Greenland ice sheet did not develop at all until the late Pliocene."
"Greenland ice sheet...apparently developed very rapidly with the first continental glaciation."
"This had the unusual effect of allowing fossils of plants that once grew on present-day Greenland to be much better preserved than with the slowly forming Antarctic ice sheet."
(No direct quote available. Answer: No, there are no ice sheets in regions other than Antarctica and Greenland currently.)
(No direct quote available. Answer: Less than 50,000 km2)
(No direct quote available. Answer: Two ice sheets covered Europe and one covered South America during the Last Glacial Period.)