An ice sheet, also called a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice covering more than 50,000 square kilometers of surrounding terrain. Earth today has two, the Antarctic ice sheet covering about 98 percent of that continent across roughly 14 million square kilometers with an average thickness over 2 kilometers, and the smaller Greenland ice sheet at about 1.7 million square kilometers. These are among Earth's most extreme environments: the East Antarctic surface is the driest, windiest and coldest place on Earth, with temperatures near minus 100 degrees Celsius, and both ice sheets are dynamic systems in which ice continually flows outward from central plateaus toward their margins under gravity.
Facts
Climate
Annual Precipitation (mm)150mm is the whole-continent Antarctic average; the same source gives under 50mm on the elevated interior plateau and over 200mm near the coast, so this is a representative blended figure, not a single site measurement. Typical Low Temperature (C)Figure is the Antarctic ice sheet high-interior annual average low; the coast runs far milder than the interior plateau. Typical High Temperature (C)Figure is the Antarctic ice sheet coastal annual average, the atlas ice sheet exemplar and by far the largest on Earth; the Greenland ice sheet runs milder. Connections
Sources
1. Weather (Australian Antarctic Division)
Australian Antarctic DivisionAustralian Antarctic Division, Weather, average annual temperature section
Antarctica's average annual temperature ranges from about -10C on the coast to -60C at the highest parts of the interior.
Australian Antarctic Division, Weather, precipitation section
The average accumulation of snow over the whole continent is estimated to be equivalent to about 150 mm of water per year.
View the Source Ice Sheets (NSIDC)
National Snow and Ice Data CenterWhat is an ice sheet section, first paragraphQuote, What is an ice sheet section, first paragraph
An ice sheet is a mass of glacial land ice extending more than 50,000 square kilometers (20,000 square miles).
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.