glacier

A glacier (UK pron.: /ˈɡlæsiə/ GLASS-ee-ər or US /ˈɡleɪʃər/ GLAY-shər) is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation (melting and sublimation) over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight, creating crevasses, seracs, and other distinguishing features. They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines. Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water.

For more information about glacier check the Wikipedia article here

ZME Science posts about glacier

Antarctica in the past: warm and flat, before glaciers shaped it

Fri, Mar 8, 2013

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We have a rather sound image in our heads of Antarctica: cold, barren and damn well inhospitable. Million of years ago before a big freeze turned the continent into a huge popsicle, Antarctica was flat, covered in vegetation and riddled with flowing rivers and life. University of Arizona researchers have sampled key sediments from the Lambert Graben [...]

Glacier in Chile retreats half a mile in a year

Thu, Dec 8, 2011

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According to Chile’s Centre for Scientific Studies (CECs) it seems like an array of glaciers located in the country’s south have shrunk extensively recently. One such glacier, the Jorge Montt, was documented for a whole year by researchers who observed that its rate of shrinkage is the largest in the country, with snout retreating a [...]

Artificial glacier to cool Mongolian capital

Wed, Nov 16, 2011

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Ulan Bator is a weird town; while some people live in skyscrapers, or big fancy villas, some still live in tents in the city outskirts. But they have plants to get even weirder: they want to keep the city cool by creating an enormous urban glacier. What they want to do is capture some of [...]

Iceberg the size of NYC forming in Antarctica

Thu, Nov 3, 2011

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Part of an ambitious NASA survey over the Antarctic, which intends on 3D mapping the continent’s glaciers in detail, one of the project’s planes has sighted a huge, emerging crack on the icy surface. The crack is a 8-mile-long break in an ice shelf, the first sign hinting to the formation of an iceberg that will [...]

Warmer oceans lead to faster glacier melting

Mon, Jul 4, 2011

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There isn’t any news for anyone, I hope, that the Earth is on the heater right now, and as time passes and gas emissions in the atmosphere rise, you should be thinking about ordering that air conditioning faster. Yes, glaciers are melting, and like I mentioned before scientists have projected an increase in sea levels [...]

Glaciers are melting faster than previously thought, new study says

Tue, Apr 5, 2011

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By means of a new mathematical model, scientists have been able to calculate the displacement of ice in glaciers along the years. This was achieved by using the spread of glacier debris and the lines where vegetation starts on the mountainsides to create a series of calculations determining the amount of ice that has melted [...]

Hundreds of icebergs drifting towards New Zealand

Tue, Nov 24, 2009

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According to the Australian Antarctic Division, at least a hundred Antarctic icebergs are currently drifting towards New Zealand at a speed that alarmed local authorities as well as specialists from all over the world. A glaciologist from inside the organization said that they already passed the Auckland islands and are currently heading for the main [...]

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