Glaciers

Glaciers are essentially giant rivers of ice that are formed over eons as fallen snow is compressed into layers of ice. Glaciers are found on about 10 percent of Earth's land area, with most of them found in the Arctic and Antarctica regions, but some occurring high up on mountains, even in tropical areas. Glacial ice makes up the ice sheets that cover Antarctica and Greenland, with glaciers flowing out to sea, where their ends float on the water as ice shelves. Eventually pieces of the ice shelves break off, or calve, to form icebergs. The movement of glaciers scours the underlying rock, and a glacier's movement can be affected by climate change, with worries that global warming could cause substantial glacial melt and impact global sea levels. For the latest news on glacier research and stunning views of these rivers of ice, see below.
Latest about glaciers

Lava outburst 3 times the size of Texas may have triggered Snowball Earth 717 million years ago
By Sascha Pare published
Massive eruptions 719 million years ago in what is now Canada may have sucked enough CO2 from the atmosphere to freeze Earth over 2 million years later.

Why did the last ice age end?
By Cameron Duke published
What caused the last ice age to end around 10,000 years ago?

25 things found frozen in Europe's mountain ice
By Tom Metcalfe published
Europe's glaciers and ice patches are an enormous deep freezer for artifacts. Here is a countdown of 25 of the most fascinating objects revealed by Europe's melting ice.

Antarctica's sea ice reaches its lowest level since records began, for the 2nd year in a row
By Harry Baker published
Antarctica's sea ice recently shrank to its lowest extent since satellite records began more than 40 years ago.

Bering Land Bridge was only passable during 2 brief windows, study finds
By Charles Q. Choi published
The first people to enter the Americas may have taken the coastal route along the Bering Strait Land Bridge during these two periods.

10 amazing discoveries from Antarctica in 2022
By Harry Baker published
A large number of scientific discoveries emerged from Earth's most southerly continent this year. Here are some of our favorites.

Ötzi the Iceman’s mummified corpse was found in an Alpine gully — but he didn’t die there, new study finds
By Tom Metcalfe published
A new study of the mummified body of Ötzi the Iceman questions the prevailing story of his death in the high Alps more than 5,000 years ago.

Glaciers in Yellowstone and Yosemite on track to vanish within decades, UN report warns
By Michael Dhar last updated
A United Nations report warns of imperiled glaciers at iconic World Heritage sites — but climate action could save most of them.
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