An ice sheet, as a geophysical substance, is a massive, contiguous body of glacial ice that covers more than 50,000 km² and is sufficiently thick (often >2–3 km) for its internal deformation and basal sliding to dominate flow dynamics. Composed primarily of recrystallized freshwater ice with embedded air bubbles, dust, and minor impurities, it exhibits anisotropic rheological behavior described by non-Newtonian creep laws (e.g., Glen’s flow law). Ice sheets thermally stratify between cold and temperate regimes, store the majority of Earth’s terrestrial freshwater, and interact with bedrock and subglacial hydrological systems, influencing isostasy, basal lubrication, and large-scale mass balance.
Summer is prime iceberg season in Greenland's glacier-fed fjords, and 2026 was no exception. Especially notable was the berg that broke from Petermann Glacier along Greenland's northwest coast in August. Roughly the size ...
Environment
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Between 2021 and 2023, Antarctica appeared to be growing. Heavy snowfall fueled by wetter weather caused parts of the continent to gain mass, leading some to question whether climate change is really causing the ice to melt. ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 19, 2026
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With approximately one-third of the world's population living within a day's walk of a coastline, sea-level rise poses a serious global threat. Every centimeter of sea-level rise could displace 1.5 million people, and current ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 12, 2026
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During the most recent ice age, much of North America disappeared beneath ice sheets several kilometers thick. These frozen giants covered most of present-day Canada and parts of the northern United States, while smaller ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 6, 2026
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A team of international scientists sets sail Thursday from Britain for Greenland to study its rapidly melting ice using drones, mini-submarines and autonomous swimming robots.
Earth Sciences
Jul 16, 2026
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East Antarctica hosts the largest ice sheet on Earth, containing enough water to raise global sea levels by 52 meters (171 feet) were it to fully melt. Yet scientists have been puzzled for decades about how and why this ice ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 6, 2026
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Scientists have uncovered why Antarctica became engulfed by ice millions of years before the Arctic. The international research, published in Science, helps solve one of climate science's longest-standing puzzles: how a vast ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 2, 2026
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Human-driven climate change significantly intensified the retreat of one of the most important glaciers in Antarctica during the 20th century. The Pine Island Glacier, which drains a large part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 28, 2026
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"What goes on in Antarctica doesn't stay in Antarctica—it has global implications," Geology tauira Natalie-Jane Reid says. Reid is one of two Otago Ph.D. candidates who contributed to an Antarctic sediment core workshop at ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 22, 2026
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Scientists predict that the next three to five decades provide a critical window to anticipate and plan for Antarctic ice loss and its contribution to sea level rise. Research published in Nature, led by Monash University ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 20, 2026
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