Glaciers

Jakobshavn Isbrae, Greenland
The calving face of the Jakobshavn Isbrae Glacier, where the end of the glacier meets the sea and begins to crumble into icebergs. (Image credit: Ian Joughin)

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

An iron arrowhead discovered at Sandgrovskaret in 2018.

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.

Archaeology
On Feb. 21, Antarctica's sea ice retreated to its lowest extent since satellite records began in 1979.

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.

Climate Change
The icy landscape in Chukotka, Russia. We see ice-covered water with a mountain range in the back at sunset.

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.

Archaeology
Researchers recently unearthed ancient DNA buried underneath the seafloor in the Scotia Sea north of mainland Antarctica.

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.

Antarctica
A reconstruction of Ötzi on display at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in the city of Bolzano in South Tyrol, Italy.

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.

Human Behavior
One-third of World Heritage glaciers, including the Lyell Glacier in Yosemite National Park, will vanish in 30 years — and that's bad news for the world's freshwater supply.

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.

Climate Change
Due to climate change, glaciers near Mount Everest have lost ice mass. New analysis shows that the loss is even greater than expected.

Spy Satellite Images Uncover Staggering Mount Everest Ice Loss

By Mindy Weisberger last updated

Declassified spy-satellite photos show that the glaciers near Mount Everest are shrinking more than expected.

Planet Earth
A new study found hundreds of newfound microbes in melting glaciers, some of which could potentially be pathogenic.

Never-before-seen microbes locked in glacier ice could spark a wave of new pandemics if released

By Harry Baker published

Climate change just got even more terrifying.

Climate Change
An iron arrowhead discovered at Sandgrovskaret, Norway in 2018.

Melting glaciers reveal 1,700-year-old weapons used by reindeer hunters

By Laura Geggel published

Archaeologists in Norway have found a handful of weapons and hunting blinds used by people more than 1,000 years ago.

Archaeology
A recent slowdown in the melting of Iceland’s glaciers is likely caused by a patch of unusually cold water in the North Atlantic Ocean, known as the "Blue Blob," "according to a new study.

Unusually cold 'Blue Blob' is slowing the rapid melting of Iceland's glaciers, but not for long

By Harry Baker published

A new study into a cold patch of the Arctic, known as the "Blue Blob," has shown that it is slowing the rate Iceland's glaciers are melting, but only for a few more decades.

Climate Change
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