Glaciers

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Glaciers

As many people hear the word glacier they immediately think about the Titanic and how it sank because it ran into a glacier. What many people do not know is the history of glaciers. There are a couple different types of glaciers, for instance the type that the titanic ran into is a Tidewater glacier, which is a glacier that flows in the sea. There are also alpine glaciers which are glaciers that are found in the mountains, and there are Continental glaciers which are associated with the ice ages, and that covers most of the contnents at one time; including Indiana. Glacier ice is the largest amount of fresh water in the world only second to the oceans as the largest reservoir of water total. Glaciers are found on every continent except Australia.

Glaciers are more or less permanent bodies of ice and compacted snow that have become deep enough and heavy enough to flow under their own weight. Glaciers require very specific climatic conditions. Glaciers develop where the temperatures are cold enough to allow the snow to accumulate and compacted. Most are found in regions of high snowfall in winter and cool temperatures in summer. These conditions ensure that the snow that accumulates in the winter isn't lost (by melt, evaporation, or calving) during the summer. Such conditions typically prevail in polar and high alpine regions. There are two main types of glaciers: valley glaciers and continental glaciers (Armstrong).

When it comes to the snow lasting ...

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