Concept in Definition ABC

Known as one of the most beautiful and impressive natural elements, glaciers are very compact and firm masses of ice that are formed from the crystallization of snow particles. Glaciers always form on the surface of planet Earth, both inside and outside the Water (In most cases, the existing surface below the level of the sea, normally invisible).

The training of glaciers has to do with the accumulation of snow and its non-melting in times when temperatures rise. When snow passes the freezing point, its structure looks crystallized and consequently becomes denser. The passage from a snowflake to glacial ice has several stages: the snowflake (or moment initial freezing of water), granular snow, sleet and finally, glacial ice (from higher hardness and compaction than snow).

We can find different types of glaciers on our planet. Among the best known we can mention the alpine glaciers (those found in mountain valleys and therefore smaller), continental ice cap glaciers (those of the largest size in the entire planet, which extend over huge areas without being modified by the

scenery), the glaciers of plateau, the piedmont glaciers (found in lowlands), the ice cap (those located on mountain ranges, volcanoes or other surfaces) and overflow glaciers (frozen surfaces that start from a larger glacier and go direction below, formed by the movement glacier natural).

Although we can find various glaciers throughout the planet, the largest concentration of the same occurs towards the poles, where the very low temperatures favor the formation of impressive blocks of ice. It is considered that today, an area of ​​33% of the total Earth is occupied by glaciers, infinitely smaller than that existing in the ice ages that occurred millions of years ago. years. In this sense, both climate changes and human actions are the causes for the wear and tear of the ice and for the melting of important glaciers that until a few decades ago covered important surfaces.

Topics in Glaciers