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Definition:
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Mass flux or volumetric flux of ice through a glacier cross section or 'gate'. The gate can be anywhere on the glacier, but is often at or close to the terminus. If the terminus is a calving front, ice discharge is usually in discrete pieces that, when discharged into a body of water, become icebergs, and the ice discharge is equivalent to the calving flux plus the flux due to advance (positive) or retreat (negative) of the calving front. Avalanching from the glacier margin, for example from the margin of a hanging glacier, may constitute ice discharge; see also dry calving.
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