Glaciers

Glaciers are essentially giant rivers of ice that are formed over eons as fallen snow is compressed into layers of ice. Glaciers are found on about 10 percent of Earth's land area, with most of them found in the Arctic and Antarctica regions, but some occurring high up on mountains, even in tropical areas. Glacial ice makes up the ice sheets that cover Antarctica and Greenland, with glaciers flowing out to sea, where their ends float on the water as ice shelves. Eventually pieces of the ice shelves break off, or calve, to form icebergs. The movement of glaciers scours the underlying rock, and a glacier's movement can be affected by climate change, with worries that global warming could cause substantial glacial melt and impact global sea levels. For the latest news on glacier research and stunning views of these rivers of ice, see below.

Related Topics: Arctic, Polar Bears, Global Warming

Latest Updates

A new study found hundreds of newfound microbes in melting glaciers, some of which could potentially be pathogenic.

Never-before-seen microbes locked in glacier ice could spark a wave of new pandemics if released

By Harry Baker published

Climate change just got even more terrifying.

A researcher samples snow covered with "glacier blood."

'Glacier blood' could be key to understanding impacts of climate change

By Nicoletta Lanese published

An expedition to the French Alps is revealing the biology of "glacier blood" and how it is impacted by climate change.

Glacier on the Tibetan Plateau.

Ancient never-before-seen viruses discovered locked up in Tibetan glacier

By Laura Geggel published

A new technique for studying ancient microbes in glaciers has led to the discovery of previously unknown viruses.

Due to climate change, glaciers near Mount Everest have lost ice mass. New analysis shows that the loss is even greater than expected.

Spy Satellite Images Uncover Staggering Mount Everest Ice Loss

By Mindy Weisberger published

Declassified spy-satellite photos show that the glaciers near Mount Everest are shrinking more than expected.

Thwaites Glacier

Scientists Are Racing to Figure Out Why This Giant Glacier in Antarctica Is Melting So Fast

By Tom Metcalfe published

A robotic submarine is about to descend into a dark, water-filled cavern in Antarctica, to try to find out why one of the continent's largest glaciers is melting so fast.

A crabeater seal rests in Antarctica.

16 Times Antarctica Revealed Its Awesomeness in 2019

By Stephanie Pappas published

Satellite images of Taku glacier in Alaska.

The World's Thickest Mountain Glacier Is Finally Melting, and Climate Change Is 100% to Blame

By Brandon Specktor published

Taku glacier in Juneau, Alaska, is the world's thickest mountain glacier and was supposed to continue growing through the end of the century. Now, it's losing ground due to climate change.

A satellite view of the Hielo Patagónico Sur 12 (HPS-12) glacier as seen on Jan. 27, 1985.

The World's Fastest-Thinning Glacier Identified

By Stephanie Pappas published

Scientists have identified the world's fastest-thinning glacier: a stream of rapidly-retreating ice in Patagonia.

This image shows the two cracks captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on Sept. 14, 2019.

Endangered Antarctic Glacier Could Soon Calve a Massive New Iceberg

By Mindy Weisberger published

Two large rifts have widened near the edge of Pine Island Glacier on the West Antarctic ice sheet. If they continue to grow, they could release an iceberg four times bigger than Manhattan.

Part of the Planpincieux Glacier in the Mont Blanc massif (shown here) is in danger of collapse.

Giant Chunk of Mont Blanc Glacier on the Brink of Collapse, Officials Warn

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published

Italian officials have ordered the evacuation of mountain huts and closed down roads near the Planpincieux Glacier, which is at risk of collapse.

This photo shows the fishing vessel used to make measurements of the glacier and the surrounding waters.

The Ice Is Melting Even Faster Than They Thought

By Rafi Letzter published

A new study shows that the ice at the bottoms of submerged glaciers could be melting 100 times faster than anyone thought.

The First Glacier Killed by Climate Change Is Getting a Haunting Memorial in Iceland

By Brandon Specktor published

"We know what's happening and what needs to be done," the haunting letter to the future reads. "Only you know if we did it."

Greenland meltwater

Under Greenland's Glaciers, Dozens of Pristine, Jewel-Like Lakes Have Been Discovered

By Laura Geggel published

Hidden beneath Greenland’s Ice Sheet like an enormous necklace of sparkly blue and oddly shaped beads, scientists have discovered 56 previously unknown and gem-like lakes.

Ice age - Earth disk covered in ice.

This Seawater Is 20,000 Years Old, and Has Remained Untouched Since the Last Ice Age

By Brandon Specktor published

Researchers have discovered the first-ever water sample dating to the end of Earth's last ice age, 20,000 years ago.

Nearly 25% of West Antarctic Ice in Danger of Collapse

By Mindy Weisberger published

Decades of climate change have severely weakened 24% of western Antarctica's ice.

excelsior glacier

Alaska's Excelsior Glacier Is Being Replaced by a Lake 5 Times the Size of Central Park

By Brandon Specktor published

A glacier is on its deathbed, and this newly formed lake is the proof.

Greenland ice sheet.

The World's Glaciers Are Sponging Up Loads of Nuclear Fallout, But You Shouldn't Worry — Yet

By Brandon Specktor published

There's more nuclear fallout trapped in the world's glaciers than anywhere besides disaster sites like Chernobyl, new research finds.

Gorner glacier in the European Alps.

In Photos: The Vanishing Glaciers of Europe's Alps

By Megan Gannon published

Half of the ice stored in the Alps will be gone by 2050. Here's a look at what's vanishing.

New climate models have shown that if little is done to curb carbon emissions and slow global warming, about 95 percent of the ice volume of the glaciers in the European Alps will be lost by the end of the century.

Glaciers in European Alps Could Disappear by 2100

By Megan Gannon published

Even if humans manage to prevent further global warming, the glaciers will still lose half their volume by 2050.

At the beginning of the Quaternary period, glaciers crept down from Greenland to cover much of North America and northern Europe.

Humans Have Caused the Most Dramatic Climate Change in 3 Million Years

By Stephanie Pappas published

The Quaternary period has seen a lot of temperature changes, but none as quick as man-made climate change.