Glacial meltwater

Glacial meltwater is water released as snow and ice melt in or around glaciers. It flows over, through, or beneath ice and can feed streams, lakes, and aquifers.

Surface melting: The conversion of solid ice or snow into liquid water at an exposed surface. Solar energy and warm air melt glacier surfaces, supplying much of their runoff.
Glacier-fed stream: A stream whose flow includes water released by melting glacier ice. These streams carry meltwater downstream, often with strong seasonal variation.
Glacier retreat: The landward movement of a glacier's terminus as it loses more ice than it gains. Retreat can increase meltwater temporarily while reducing the glacier's long-term water storage.
Glacier: A persistent body of land ice that forms where accumulated snow survives and compacts over time. Glacial meltwater originates from the snow and ice stored in glaciers.
Supraglacial lake: A lake of liquid water that collects on the surface of a glacier. Surface meltwater can pool in depressions and form lakes on glacier ice.
Glacial flour: Fine rock particles ground by glaciers and suspended in meltwater. Meltwater transports this sediment, giving some glacier-fed rivers a cloudy appearance.
Peak water: The point at which a glacier's meltwater contribution to runoff reaches its maximum before declining. It describes why meltwater supply may first rise and later fall as a glacier loses mass.
Ablation: The loss of snow and ice from a glacier through melting, sublimation, calving, or other processes. Meltwater is one direct product of glacier ablation.
Moulin: A vertical shaft in glacier ice that carries surface water toward the glacier bed. Moulins funnel surface meltwater into the glacier interior.
Glacial lake outburst flood: A flood caused by the sudden drainage of a lake associated with a glacier. This hazard can occur when meltwater lakes breach ice or sediment dams.

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