A glacier’s snowline marks the location where the amount of summer melting and accumulated snowmass are equal. If, over the course of a season, a glacier experiences more snowfall than melting, its Keep reading
Tag: glacier
As Ice Flows
The movement of glaciers is driven by gravity. The immense weight of the ice causes it to both slide downhill and deform – or creep. As glacier melting speeds up, Keep reading
Watery Veins
Glacial river veins wend and meander through these aerial photographs of Iceland by photographer Stas Bartnikas. Rivers naturally change their course over time, but here seasonal melts and the slow Keep reading
Calving Icebergs
The birth of icebergs from a glacier is known as calving. Although it’s extremely common for chunks of ice to break off a glacier’s terminus, the process is not well Keep reading
Crevasses
Glacial ice is constantly flowing but at speeds we don’t notice by eye. That doesn’t mean there aren’t signs, though! Crevasses, narrow fractures in the ice that may be tens Keep reading
Flowing Ice
Glaciers are kind of bizarre. Despite being very solid, they still flow, sometimes on the order of a meter a day. This flow is driven by gravity and the incredible Keep reading
Glacial Remains
The high walls of this alpine canyon were cut by flowing glacial ice. This type of amphitheater-shaped valley is known as a cirque. The photo shows one of the Chicago Lakes on Keep reading
Martian Viscous Flow
These images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show what are called viscous flow features. They are the Martian equivalent of glacial flow. Such features are typically found in Mars’ mid-latitudes. Keep reading
Glaciers in Motion
To the naked eye, glaciers don’t appear to move much, but appearances can be deceiving. Like avalanches and turbidity currents, glaciers flow under the influence of gravity. They typically move Keep reading
Melting Ice Sheets From Below
A new study of ice sheets in West Antarctica has made major news this week with the announcement that the ice melt in this region is unstoppable and may raise Keep reading