Ice shelf

Alternative definitions (13), class: vernacular (0)
Term: Ice shelf
Definition: A thick and extensive ice body attached to a coast and floating on the sea, gaining mass by flow from grounded glacier ice. See floating tongue, shelf ice. Ice shelves are much thicker than sea ice. Currently, nearly all are located in Antarctica. The mass balance of an ice shelf may have significant components of both gain and loss at the base.
Created 2022.03.08
Last Modified 2023.03.27
Contributed by GCW Glossary
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