Ice sheet

In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier,^[2] is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² (19,000 sq mi).^[3] The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice sheets are bigger than ice shelves or alpine glaciers. Masses of ice covering less than 50,000 km² are termed an ice cap. An ice cap will typically feed a series of glaciers around its periphery.

Although the surface is cold, the base of an ice sheet is generally warmer due to geothermal heat. In places, melting occurs and the melt-water lubricates the ice sheet so that it flows more rapidly. This process produces fast-flowing channels in the ice sheet — these are ice streams.

In previous geologic time spans (glacial periods) there were other ice sheets. During the Last Glacial Period at Last Glacial Maximum, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered much of North America. In the same period, the Weichselian ice sheet covered Northern Europe and the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered southern South America.