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.
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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. Ice Sheet
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Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Pygoscelis adeliae (Animal Diversity Web)
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Pygoscelis antarcticus (Animal Diversity Web)
Source Wikipedia: Grylloblattidae
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Eudyptes chrysolophus (Animal Diversity Web)
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1. Weather (Australian Antarctic Division)
Australian Antarctic DivisionIntroduction
Moving even a small distance in Antarctic storms is a feat of strength and endurance. [end transcript] Temperature Antarctica's average annual temperature ranges from about -10°C on the coast to -60°C 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).
Wikipedia: Grylloblattidae
WikipediaHome To: Ice Crawler, Habitat and distributionQuote, Home To: Ice Crawler, Habitat and distribution
They are known to inhabit cold temperate forests to glaciers and the edges of ice sheets.
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Pygoscelis adeliae (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Adelie Penguin, Terrestrial BiomesQuote, Home To: Adelie Penguin, Terrestrial Biomes
Terrestrial Biomes icecap
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Pygoscelis antarcticus (Animal Diversity Web)
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Terrestrial Biomes icecap
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Eudyptes chrysolophus (Animal Diversity Web)
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Terrestrial Biomes icecap
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