Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, [ 2 ] is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km 2 (19,000 sq mi). [ 3 ] The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice sheets are bigger than ice shelves or alpine glaciers.
Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climatology, meteorology, hydrology, biology, and ecology. The impact of glaciers on people includes the fields of human geography and anthropology. The discoveries of water ice on the Moon, Mars, Europa and Pluto add an ...
Glacier morphology, or the form a glacier takes, is influenced by temperature, precipitation, topography, and other factors. [1] The goal of glacial morphology is to gain a better understanding of glaciated landscapes and the way they are shaped. [2] Types of glaciers can range from massive ice sheets, such as the Greenland ice sheet, to small ...
A glacier that fills a valley is called a valley glacier, or alternatively, an alpine glacier or mountain glacier. [9] A large body of glacial ice astride a mountain, mountain range, or volcano is termed an ice cap or ice field. [10] Ice caps have an area less than 50,000 km 2 (19,000 sq mi) by definition. Glacial bodies larger than 50,000 km 2 ...
The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth 's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Thus, there is a overlap with the hydrosphere.
Laurentide ice sheet. The maximum extent of glacial ice in the north polar area during the Pleistocene period included the vast Laurentide ice sheet in eastern North America. The Laurentide ice sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered millions of square miles, including most of Canada and a large portion of the Northern United States ...
Quaternary glaciation. Extent of maximum glaciation (in black) in the Northern Hemisphere during the Pleistocene. The formation of 3 to 4 km (1.9 to 2.5 mi) thick ice sheets equate to a global sea level drop of about 120 m (390 ft) The Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, is an alternating series of glacial and ...
Ice field. An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. [1] They are often found in the colder climates and higher altitudes of the world where there is sufficient precipitation for them to form.