File:Larsen_Ice_Shelf_in_Antarctica.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
ice shelf
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floating platform of ice on the ocean surface, at outlet of a glacier or ice sheet
An ice shelf is a thick, floating platform of ice that extends from a glacier or ice sheet into the ocean. It matters because changes to ice shelves can affect sea levels and ocean circulation patterns that influence global climate.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- glacier
- Image
- .00 1128 Schelfeiskannte in der Antarktis.jpg
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- Commons category
- Ice shelves
- topic's main category
- Category:Ice shelves
- Commons gallery
- Ice shelf
- different from
- ice floe
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
- exact match
- purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00000380
- studied by
- glaciology
via Wikidata · CC0
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
View of the Larsen Ice Shelf grounding line along the Foyn Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The floating ice shelf is in the left foreground, and the grounding line is visible as an abrupt change in surface slope due to flexure caused by the buoyancy force where the ice reaches flotation.
An ice shelf is a large platform of glacial ice floating on the ocean, fed by one or multiple tributary glaciers. Ice shelves form along coastlines where the ice thickness is insufficient to displace the more dense surrounding ocean water. The boundary between the ice shelf (floating) and grounded ice (resting on bedrock or sediment) is referred to as the grounding line; the boundary between the ice shelf and the open ocean (often covered by sea ice) is the ice front or calving front.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “ice shelf” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.