Related topics: climate change , global warming , ice , ice sheet
Glacier
hideA glacier is a large mass of ice moving slowly over some land surface or down a valley, formed over long periods from the accumulation of snow in areas where the amount of snow that falls exceeds the amount that melts. The word glacier comes from French via the Vulgar Latin glacia, and ultimately from Latin glacies meaning ice.
Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, and second only to oceans as the largest reservoir of total water. Glaciers cover vast areas of the polar regions and are found in mountain ranges of every continent except Australia, as well as in New Zealand. In the tropics glaciers are restricted to the highest mountains. The processes and landforms caused by glaciers and related to them are referred to as glacial. The process of glacier growth and establishment is called glaciation. Glaciers are sensitive monitors of climate conditions and are crucial to both world water resources and sea level variation.
For more information about Glacier, read the full article at
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News tagged with glaciers
Ghost alps of Antarctica are glimpsed after 14 million years
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jun 03, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (18) |
2
Millions of years ago, rivers ran in Antarctica through craggy mountain valleys that were strangely similar to the European Alps of today, Chinese and British scientists reported on Wednesday.
Volcanoes cool the tropics, say researchers
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jan 05, 2009 |
3.1 / 5 (12) |
9
Climate researchers have shown that big volcanic eruptions over the past 450 years have temporarily cooled weather in the tropics—but suggest that such effects may have been masked in the 20th century by rising ...
Glacier melt adds ancient edibles to marine buffet
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 23, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (10) |
8
Glaciers along the Gulf of Alaska are enriching stream and near shore marine ecosystems from a surprising source - ancient carbon contained in glacial runoff, researchers from four universities and the U.S. ...
Hypoxia increases as climate warms
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 15, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
2
A new study of Pacific Ocean sediments off the coast of Chile has found that offshore waters experienced systematic oxygen depletion during the rapid warming of the Antarctic following the last "glacial maximum" period 20,000 ...
Antarctica served as climatic refuge in Earth's greatest extinction event
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 02, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (10) |
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A new fossil species suggests that some land animals may have survived the end-Permian extinction by living in cooler climates in Antarctica. Researchers have identified a distant relative of mammals that apparently survived ...
Ancient high-altitude trees grow faster as temperatures rise
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 16, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (11) |
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PIC=32536:left]Increasing temperatures at high altitudes are fueling the post-1950 growth spurt seen in bristlecone pines, the world's oldest trees, according to new research.
'Whitewash' could slow global warming: Peruvian scientist
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 04, 2009 |
1.8 / 5 (10) |
11
A Peruvian scientist has called on his country to help slow the melting of Andean glaciers by daubing white paint on the rock and earth left behind by receding ice so they will absorb less heat.
Life's Ancient Island in the Ice
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (13) |
3
During the last ice age, massive glaciers covered much of our planet. However, a region of Alaska, Siberia and the Canadian Yukon remained ice-free. This region, known as Beringia, supported unique organisms ...
Shrinking Bylot Island glaciers tell story of climate change
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 31, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (59) |
8
The U.S. Geological Survey has released the results of a long-term study of key glaciers in western North America, reporting this month that glacial shrinkage is rapid and accelerating and a result of climate ...
The mysterious glaciers that grew when Asia heated up
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 27, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (8) |
2
Long ago a group of Himalayan glaciers grew by several kilometers even while Central Asia's climate warmed up to six degrees Celsius. BYU professor Summer Rupper's analysis attributes much of the glacial growth to increased ...
Tibet drought worst in 30 years: Chinese state media
Jun 20, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
4
A drought in Tibet has intensified into the region's worst in three decades, leaving thousands of hectares parched and killing more than 13,000 head of cattle, China's state media said Saturday.
Argentine glacier advances despite global warming
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jun 14, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
5
(AP) -- Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier is one of only a few ice fields worldwide that have withstood rising global temperatures.
Under Andean ice, a golden prize
May 13, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
5
An ambitious gold mining project in northern Chile, high up in the Andes close to ancient glaciers, is finally getting underway amid the economic downturn despite fears from environmentalists.
Southern glaciers grow out of step with North
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 30, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (11) |
2
The vast majority of the world’s glaciers are retreating as the planet gets warmer. But a few, including ones south of the equator, in South America and New Zealand, are inching forward.
Dust may settle unanswered questions on Antarctica
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 29, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (13) |
8
Dust trapped deep in Antarctic ice sheets is helping scientists unravel details of past climate change.
