ice shelf
Definition
Noun: A thick, floating platform of ice that is permanently attached to a coastline and extends out over the ocean. It is formed by the flow of land-based glaciers or ice sheets into the sea.
Usage
An ice shelf is a specific geographical feature found in polar regions, particularly Antarctica. It is distinct from sea ice, which forms from frozen seawater. The term is used to describe these massive, grounded ice extensions.
Examples
- The Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica is the largest ice shelf in the world.
- Scientists are monitoring the stability of the ice shelf as climate changes.
- Large pieces can break off from an ice shelf, forming icebergs in a process called calving.
Advanced Usage
- Ice shelf collapse/disintegration: Refers to the rapid and complete breakup of an ice shelf structure.
- The Larsen B ice shelf collapse in 2002 released thousands of icebergs into the Weddell Sea.
- Ice shelf buttressing: Describes the supportive role an ice shelf plays by holding back the faster flow of the inland glacier behind it.
- The loss of the ice shelf's buttressing effect can accelerate glacier flow into the ocean.
Variants and Related Words
- Ice sheet (n): A mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 square kilometers. Ice shelves often form where ice sheets flow into the ocean.
- Glacier (n): A persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. Glaciers can feed into ice shelves.
- Sea ice (n): Ice that forms from the freezing of ocean water. It is not attached to land and is distinct from an ice shelf.
Synonyms
- Floating ice tongue: A less common term, often used for narrower projections of ice.
- Barrier ice: An older or more general term for ice that forms a barrier along a coast.
Related Phrases
- Shelf ice: An alternative term for ice shelf, though less commonly used in modern scientific literature.
Noun
-
ice that is attached to land but projects out to sea
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