Jada Chang
Glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, what's the difference of them? Glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, what's the difference of them?
Oct 5, 2010 10:43 AM
Answers · 5
1
Well what's the difference between a cap and a sheet?
October 5, 2010
Hi Jada "Glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, what's the difference BETWEEN them?" Both ice caps and ice sheets are types of glacier formations, or morphologies. A rough guide: Ice sheets and ice caps are areas of ice which are not constrained by topography. An ice cap is smaller than an ice sheet - the threshold between an ice cap and an ice sheet is generally accepted to be 50,000 square kilometres. A glacier is an ice formation which is constrained or controlled by topography, and there are about 10 second-order classifications, such as 'valley glacier', 'cirque glacier' etc. (thanks to Benn & Evans, 2003)
October 5, 2010
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