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Definition: glacier from Dictionary of Energy

Earth Science. a large mass of land ice that is formed by the compaction and recrystallization of snow, and which flows slowly down-slope or outward in all directions under its own weight.


glacier

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
moving mass of ice that survives year to year, formed by the compacting of snow into névé and then into granular ice and set in motion outward and downward by the force of gravity and the stress of its accumulated mass. Glaciers are usually found in high altitudes and latitudes. Glaciers are of four chief types. Valley, or mountain, glaciers are tongues of moving ice sent out by mountain snowfields following valleys originally formed by streams. In the Alps there are more than 1,200 valley glaciers. Piedmont glaciers, which occur only in high latitudes, are formed by the spreading of valley glaciers where they emerge from their valleys or by the confluence of several valley glaciers. Small ice sheets known as ice caps are flattened, somewhat dome-shaped glaciers spreading out horizontally in all directions and cover mountains and valleys. Continental glaciers are huge ice sheets whose margins may break off to form icebergs (see iceberg ). The only existing continental glaciers are the…
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Full text Article Glacier

From The Encyclopedia of Tourism and Recreation in Marine Environments
Glaciers are large masses of ice; they form on land when large amounts of snow continue to accumulate over many seasons. The weight from the accumulated snow compresses the different layers into ice. Once the ice becomes thick and heavy it will start to move from the combination of gravity and its…
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Full text Article glacier

From Philip's Encyclopedia
glacier
Large mass of ice, mainly recrystallized snow, which moves slowly by creep downslope or outward in all directions due to the stress of its own weight. The flow terminates where the rate of melting is equal to the advance of the glacier. There are three main types: the mountain or valley glacier, …
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Full text Article glacier

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
moving mass of ice that survives year to year, formed by the compacting of snow into névé and then into granular ice and set in motion outward and downward by the force of gravity and the stress of its accumulated mass. Glaciers are usually found in high altitudes and latitudes. Glaciers are of four…
| 720 words
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Full text Article glacier

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Body of ice, originating in mountains in snowfields above the snowline, that moves slowly downhill and is constantly built up from its source. The geographic features produced by the erosive action of glaciers ( erosion ) are characteristic and include glacial troughs (U-shaped valleys), corries , …
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Full text Article GLACIER

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
American man of letters If the glacial period were uniformity, what was catastrophe? In Samuels, Ernest (ed.) The Education of Henry Adams Chapter XV (p. 227 ) Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston Massachusetts USA . 1974. Swiss-born American naturalist, geologist, an... …
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Description Time Glaciers are huge masses of ice that cover the basement rock. 00 :02 – 00 :07 They are found only in regions where snow cover is permanent—that is, at the poles and at high altitude. 00 :10 – 00 :17 At low temperatures, snow does not melt: it accumulates and is compacted into ice. …
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Full text Article glacier fluctuations

From Environmental History and Global Change: A Dictionary of Environmental History
Glaciers have been seen as menaces to upland communities, scientific laboratories, sublime scenery, recreational sites, features to be conquered and explored, symbols of wilderness and nature’s power and now, with global warming, as an endangered species ( Carey 2007 ). Today glaciers cover c.15…
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Shrinking Glaciers
Around the world, glaciers are losing mass and are in retreat. The changes in glaciers over time provide valuable evidence of long-term climate change. The mass and extent of glaciers respond to temperature and snowfall in the very local geography of mountains and polar regions. Because the…
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Full text Article Glacier studies

From BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource
research experiments conducted at the Glacier Metal Company in London from 1948 to 1965 to investigate the development of group relations, the effects of change , and employee roles and responsibilities. The Glacier studies were conducted by the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, with the…
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The active Perito Moreno Glacier, southern...
Abstract Glaciers are distinct features of Earth's climate system and, combined with sea ice, form the cryosphere. Glaciers currently exist around the globe from the polar regions to tropical high altitudes. Although composed of ice, they are very dynamic and play an extremely important role in…
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