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Ice calving, also known as glacier calving or iceberg calving, is the breaking of ice chunks from the edge of a glacier. [1] It is a form of ice ablation or ice disruption . It is the sudden release and breaking away of a mass of ice from a glacier , iceberg , ice front , ice shelf , or crevasse .
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 .
Ablation can refer to mass loss from the upper surface of a glacier or ocean-driven melt and calving on the face of a glacier terminus. [7] Ablation can refer either to the processes removing ice and snow or to the quantity of ice and snow removed. Debris-covered glaciers have also been shown to greatly impact the ablation process.
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 ]
Capsizing can occur shortly after calving when the iceberg is young and establishing balance. [19] Icebergs are unpredictable and can capsize anytime and without warning. Large icebergs that break off from a glacier front and flip onto the glacier face can push the entire glacier backwards momentarily, producing 'glacial earthquakes' that ...
Using data collected from 13 Alaskan tidewater calving glaciers, Brown et al. (1982) derived the following relationship between calving speed and water depth: = +, where is the mean calving speed (m⋅a −1), is a calving coefficient (27.1±2 a −1), is the mean water depth at glacier front (m) and is a constant (0 m⋅a −1). Pelto and ...
Water from a moulin often exits the glacier at base level, sometimes into the sea, and occasionally the lower end of a moulin may be exposed in the face of a glacier or at the edge of a stagnant block of ice. Water from moulins may help lubricate the base of the glacier, affecting glacial motion.
Fox Glacier, New Zealand A serac ( / s ɛ ˈ r æ k ˌ ˈ s ɛ r æ k / ) (from Swiss French sérac ) is a block or column of glacial ice , often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier . Commonly house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers , since they may topple with little warning.