World Biomes

Glaciers and Ice Sheets

Introduction

• A Glacier is any large mass of perennial ice that originates on land by the recrystallization of snow or other forms of solid precipitation and that shows evidence of past or present flow.

• A glacier occupying an extensive tract of relatively level land and exhibiting flow from the centre outward is commonly called an ice sheet.

• Glaciers form when snow accumulates on a patch of land over tens to hundreds of years.

• The snow eventually becomes so thick that it collapses under its own weight and forms dense glacial ice.

Climate

• It is considered a desert because of the very low snowfall each year (below 100 mm).

• In the winter, temperatures can be as low as -30 - -60° C, and in the summer it does not rise above 0 - -30 °C.

• Also the winds have an enormous effect on the weather. They bring dramatic storms with visibility reduced to less than 100 feet.

Distribution of biome

• Ice Sheets can be found in the interiors of Greenland and Antarctica

Soil

• There is no soil.

Plants

• There are no plants

Animals

• All the wildlife is connected with sea, because there is no food on land.

• Not many animals spend all year there.

Walrus

Harp seal

Polar bear

Beluga

Narwhal

Adelie penguin Emperor penguin

Leopard seal

Southern elephant seal

Blue whale

Killer whale