what is glacier. how many types of glacier are there? give the answer with explanation also.
Answers
Glaciers are classifiable in three main groups: (1) glaciers that extend in continuous sheets, moving outward in all directions, are called ice sheets if they are the size of Antarctica or Greenland and ice caps if they are smaller; (2) glaciers confined within a path that directs the ice movement are called mountain glaciers; and (3) glaciers that spread out on level ground or on the ocean at the foot of glaciated regions are called piedmont glaciers or ice shelves, respectively. Glaciers in the third group are not independent and are treated here in terms of their sources: ice shelves with ice sheets, piedmont glaciers with mountain glaciers. A complex of mountain glaciers burying much of a mountain range is called an ice field.
1) glacier is a large, perennial accumulation of crystalline ice, snow, rock, sediment, and often liquid water that originates on land and moves down slope under the influence of its own weight and gravity. ... winter precipitation produces significant accumulations of snow.
2) Glaciers are classifiable in three main groups: (1) glaciers that extend in continuous sheets, moving outward in all directions, are called ice sheets if they are the size of Antarctica or Greenland and ice caps if they are smaller; (2) glaciers confined within a path that directs the ice movement are called mountain glaciers; and (3) glaciers that spread out on level ground or on the ocean at the foot of glaciated regions are called piedmont glaciers or ice shelves, respectively. Glaciers in the third group are not independent and are treated here in terms of their sources: ice shelves with ice sheets, piedmont glaciers with mountain glaciers. A complex of mountain glaciers burying much of a mountain range is called an ice field.