| Term: | Glacier table |
| Definition: |
A rock that resides on a pedestal of ice; formed by differential ablation between the rock-covered ice and surrounding bare ice. NSIDCCryosphere
A rock that is balanced on a pedestal of ice, and elevated above the surface of a glacier. The rock protects the pedestal of ice from melting by insulating it from the sun. A rock that rests on a pedestal of ice formed when ablation of the ice beneath the rock is less than ablation of the surrounding bare ice. IHPGlacierMassBalance A boulder perched on a pedestal of ice. The boulder protects the ice from ablation during sunny weather. Around the boulder the ice surface ablates and, therefore, is lowered, whereas the boulder remains at the original level. While the pedestal becomes higher and higher in relation to the glacier surface, the sun shines further under the boulder from the south (in the northern hemisphere). Consequently the pedestal gets ablated on its southern side, and the boulder will eventually fall off the pedestal, usually on its southern side (in the northern hemisphere). After this a new cycle of table growth and destruction may begin. Swisseduc GCW |