Icebergs can be found floating freely in the ocean around the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, as well as in other areas with glaciers that end in the ocean. They can be important for the survival of many animals, such as polar bears in the Arctic or penguins in the Antarctic, but they can also […]
What is a Tidewater Glacier? Tidewater glaciers are glaciers which extend out, and terminate into the sea [1]. They are part of a group of glaciers known as calving glaciers, as their main method of ice loss is through iceberg calving, instead of surface melt [1,2]. Calving icebergs currently accounts for up to 70% of
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This article, while drawing on a variety of literature, is largely based on an excellent review of calving processes by Prof. Doug Benn and colleagues in the journal Earth Science Reviews. If you want to know more about glacier calving, this review paper would make a great starting point. What is calving? Calving is the glaciological
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What is a grounding line? Almost all of Antarctica is covered in ice. Less than 1% its land area is ice free. This means that, across Antarctica, almost all glaciers end in the ocean, whereupon they calve icebergs. These glaciers can be grounded, or can end in floating ice tongues or larger ice shelves. These
