- Melting Glaciers Do More Than Raise Sea Levels (hakaimagazine.com)
Novels and blockbuster movies that tackle climate change gravitate toward the dramatic, especially when it comes to melting ice. In these stories, mountainous glaciers crumble and cities flood as the sea rises. But a lot more happens in between the mountains and the sea, as meltwater passes through the liminal space of the coast. Here are five ways the slow, non-dramatic drip of melting ice changes our coastlines and oceans.
- Glacier (Wikipedia)
A glacier (US: /ˈɡleɪʃər/; UK: /ˈɡlæsiər, ˈɡleɪsiər/) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as crevasses and seracs, as it slowly flows and deforms under stresses induced by its weight. As it moves, it abrades rock and debris from its substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords. Although a glacier may flow into a body of water, it forms only on land and is distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water.