Glaciology

Glaciology is the study of glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, and other natural ice, including how ice forms and moves and how it affects Earth.

Glacier mass balance: The difference between the mass a glacier gains and loses over a stated period. Accumulation and loss determine whether a glacier grows, shrinks, or remains stable.
Snow metamorphism: The transformation of snow grains through changes in temperature, pressure, and water content. Snow metamorphism prepares surface snow to become dense glacier ice.
Sea-level rise: The long-term increase in the average height of the ocean surface. Ice-sheet and glacier mass loss adds water to the oceans.
Louis Agassiz: A Swiss-born naturalist who advanced the theory that large parts of Europe had once been covered by glaciers. His advocacy helped establish glaciation as an explanation for European landforms.
Last Glacial Maximum: The interval when global ice sheets reached their greatest extent during the most recent glacial period, about 26,000 to 19,000 years ago. Its ice limits show the scale of past glaciation and its lasting landscape effects.
Glacier flow: The downhill movement of glacier ice through internal deformation and sliding over its bed. Flow explains how ice moves from accumulation zones toward glacier termini.
Firn: Old snow that has survived at least one melt season but has not yet become glacier ice. Firn is the intermediate material between seasonal snow and compact glacier ice.
Ice core: A cylinder of ice drilled from a glacier or ice sheet, preserving layered climate records. Ice cores reveal past atmospheric composition and climate conditions.
James David Forbes: A Scottish physicist who studied glacier motion and the physical properties of ice in the nineteenth century. His measurements helped turn glacier movement into a subject of quantitative study.
Glacial lake: A lake formed in a basin created by a glacier or impounded by glacial ice or sediment. Glacial lakes can reshape valleys and create flood hazards as ice retreats.

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