Anicebergbreaksfromtheendofthistidewater glacier.
Therearemanyothertypesofglaciers.Valleyglacierseroderocks.Tidewaterglaciersflowintotheocean.Whathappenswhenafrozenglaciermeetsoceanwater?Chunksoficecanbreakoffofglaciersandbecomeocean icebergs.
Piedmontglaciersformwide,roundshapesastheyspilloutontoflat areas.
Glacier101
Today,therearehundredsofthousandsofglaciers.Somearehuge.WehaveicesheetsaboutthesizeofDelaware,Maryland,andNewJerseycombined!Onlytwoicesheetsexist— inGreenlandandin Antarctica.
Alakeformsattheendofthisvalley glacier.
Piedmontglaciersflowfromsteepmountainareasontoflatareas.Therearetinyglacierscalledglacierets.Therearemysteriousglaciersmadeoffusedrockandicecalledrockglaciers.Therearesomanyothertypesofglaciers,andnotwoare alike.
GlobalGlaciers
Glaciersarefoundallovertheworld.Theyaffecttheclimate.Theybuildandshapelandscapes.Theyprovidewaterandothervitalresources.Theyshowuswhenenvironmentsarenotinbalance.Theyconnectculturestolandscapes.Tome,that’swhatissopowerfulabout glaciers.
MuirGlacier,Alaska:
August13,1941andAugust31, 2004
Thiswintericecaveformedinsidea glacier.
Now,duetoclimatechange,glaciersaremelting.ThiswillhaveaseriouseffectonEarth.Sealevelswillrise.Otherwatersourcesmaydryup.Andmanypeoplewholivewithglaciersmaylosepartoftheirwayoflife.Iceinfluencespeoplejustasmuchasweinfluence ice.
LifeattheExtremes
Byexploringourplanet’smostextremeplaces,NationalGeographicisdiscoveringnewinformationaboutEarth’s climate.
