What is a glacier? A glacier is an accumulation of ice and snow that slowly flows over land. Alpine glaciers are frozen rivers of ice, slowly flowing under their own weight down mountainsides and into …

What is a glacier? A glacier is an accumulation of ice and snow that slowly flows over land. At higher elevations, more snow typically falls than melts, adding to its mass. Eventually, the surplus of built-up …

What is the lifecycle of a glacier, and what factors influence its lifecycle? The amount of precipitation, whether in the form of snowfall, freezing rain, avalanches, or wind-drifted snow, is important to …

Glaciers, slow-moving rivers of ice, have sculpted mountains and carved valleys throughout Earth's history. They continue to flow and shape the landscape in many places today.

Quick facts, basic science, and information about snow, ice, and why the cryosphere matters The cryosphere includes all of the snow and ice-covered regions across the planet.

How do ice sheets form? Like a glacier, an ice sheet forms through the accumulation of snowfall in areas where annual snowfall exceeds annual snowmelt. Over thousands of years, layers of snow build up, …

This data collection’s primary data product is the GLIMS Glacier Database. The glacier database includes measurements of glacier geometry, glacier area, snowlines, supraglacial lakes and rock …

The Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI) is a global set of glacier outlines; it is intended as a snapshot of the world’s glaciers. This data set provides a single outline for each glacier and is produced in …

Apr 22, 2025 · The Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) Glacier Database, Version 1 data set, available at the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive …

Feb 15, 2022 · A glacial lake is a body of water that originates from a glacier. It typically forms at the foot of a glacier, but may form on, in, or under it. As Earth’s climate warms, the world’s glaciers are …