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Ice sheets are the largest form of glacial formation. They are continent-sized ice masses that span areas over 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 square miles). [5] They are dome-shaped and, like ice caps, exhibit radial flow. [4] [5] [6] As ice sheets expand over the ocean, they become ice shelves. [6]
Ice caps accumulate snow on their upper surfaces, and ablate snow on their lower surfaces. [6] An ice cap in equilibrium accumulates and ablates snow at the same rate. The AAR is the ratio between the accumulation area and the total area of the ice cap, which is used to indicate the health of the glacier. [6]
Greenland ice sheet as seen from space. An ice sheet is a body of ice which covers a land area of continental size - meaning that it exceeds 50,000 km 2. [4] The currently existing two ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica have a much greater area than this minimum definition, measuring at 1.7 million km 2 and 14 million km 2, respectively.
Ice sheets are bigger than ice shelves or alpine glaciers. Masses of ice covering less than 50,000 km 2 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 ...
Some named Antarctic iceshelves. Ice shelf extending approximately 6 miles into the Antarctic Sound from Joinville Island. An ice shelf is "a floating slab of ice originating from land of considerable thickness extending from the coast (usually of great horizontal extent with a very gently sloping surface), resulting from the flow of ice sheets, initially formed by the accumulation of snow ...
It is classified as a marine-based ice sheet, meaning that its bed lies well below sea level and its edges flow into floating ice shelves. The WAIS is bounded by the Ross Ice Shelf, the Ronne Ice Shelf, and outlet glaciers that drain into the Amundsen Sea. [1] As a smaller part of Antarctica, WAIS is also more strongly affected by climate change.
An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 meters (16 yards) long [1] that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Smaller chunks of floating glacially derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits".
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 (19,000 sq mi) are called ice sheets or continental glaciers. [11]