By Team Aakash Byju's
A large accumulation of ice that moved over land is called a Glacier. They are usually due to the fallen snow which is compressed into large, thick ice masses.
Only in the regions where the snow cover is permanent, that is, at poles and at high altitudes we find the glaciers.
Glaciers are formed due to low temperatures because of which snow doesn’t melt and gets compressed into ice sheets.
These are formed on mountainsides. They move downward along canyons. Except in Australia, we can see this glacier on every continent.
This can be described as a mass of glacial ice and it extends for more than 20,000 square miles. They form a structure like a hemisphere covering everything around them.
Unlike alpine glaciers, the ice sheet glaciers cover entire mountains. They cover Antarctica & the island of Greenland.
They are formed over many years after snow piles up and melts continuously.
When another layer of snow falls on this layer, the lower layer becomes more dense & compressed.
The upper part of the glacier that has not yet been compressed is called Firn. These compressed glaciers are the source of some of the rivers.
Glaciers can indicate global warming & climate changes. The melting of the ice sheets of glaciers is the cause of an increase in sea levels by adding fresh water.
The melting of the ice sheets of glaciers causes a shortage of drinking water for animal bodies and some plants in the mountain region.
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