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Why do you think continental glaciers now exist only in Greenland and Antarctica?
Firn forms when parts of a snowfield melt and refreeze. Why do you think today’s continental glaciers exist only in Greenland and Antarctica? Greenland and Antarctica are in the polar regions, which are cold year-round. In the process of basal slip, why does the ice beneath the glacier melt?
Why are the glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland so important?
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are important in the global climate system. Owing to gravitational forces, the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet contributes more to sea level rise in the northern hemisphere than the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.
Why is Greenland covered in ice?
Essentially, atmospheric models throughout the history of the world indicate that Greenland used to contain high levels of carbon dioxide. However, as the atmospheric carbon dioxide began to drop, it created a colder climate that eventually caused a thick layer of ice to form.
How are continental glaciers formed?
The formation of continental glaciers occurs in places where there is much of snowfall compared to the rest. After falling, the snow begins to compress and then becomes more tightly and densely packed. It changes from light, fluffy light crystals to rounded ice pellets.
What period did continental glaciers cover Antarctica?
Today, continental glaciers cover most of Antarctica and the island of Greenland. Massive ice sheets covered much of North America and Europe during the Pleistocene time period. This was the last glacial period, also known as the Ice Age. Ice sheets reached their greatest size about 18,000 years ago.
Is Greenland a continental glacier?
Continental glaciers are continuous masses of ice that are much larger than alpine glaciers. Small continental glaciers are called ice fields. Greenland and Antarctica are almost entirely covered with ice sheets that are up to 3500 m (11 500 ft) thick. …
What will happen if Greenland melts?
If all the ice in Greenland melted, the global sea level would jump by about 6 meters (20ft), and although this is unlikely to happen on any sort of foreseeable timescale, scientists have warned that the world’s largest island is reaching a tipping point due to the pressures exerted upon it by global heating.
Why did they name Greenland Greenland?
The name Greenland comes from Scandinavian settlers. In the Norse sagas, it is said that Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland for murder. He set out in ships to find land rumoured to be to the northwest. After settling there, he named the land Grfnland (Greenland), possibly to attract more people to settle there.
How did the Greenland ice sheet form?
The Greenland Ice Sheet formed in the middle Miocene by coalescence of ice caps and glaciers. The weight of the ice has depressed the central area of Greenland; the bedrock surface is near sea level over most of the interior of Greenland, but mountains occur around the periphery, confining the sheet along its margins.
What type of glacier is found at the Antarctic and Greenland?
continental ice sheets
Greenland and Antarctica The largest glaciers are continental ice sheets or icecaps, enormous masses (greater than 50,000 square kilometers [12 million acres]) of ice found only in Antarctica and Greenland.