Calving glaciers terminate in water and lose mass by calving, the process whereby masses of ice break off to form icebergs. Since they may consist of temperate or polar ice, may be grounded or floating, and may flow into the sea or into lakes, many types exist. They are widely distributed, but while lake-calving glaciers may exist in any glacierized mountain range, tidewater glaciers (Tidewater Glaciers) are currently confined to latitudes higher than 45°. Typically, calving glaciers are fast flowing and characterized by extensional (stretching) flow near their termini, resulting in profuse crevassing (Crevasses). They usually terminate at near-vertical ice cliffs, which are typically a few tens of meters in height but are sometimes as much as 80 m high. Calving activity above the waterline comprises a continuum from small fragments of ice to pillars the full height of the cliff. Below the waterline much ice may be lost through melting, but, in deep water, buoyancy causes infrequent...
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Warren, C.R. (2011). Calving Glaciers. In: Singh, V.P., Singh, P., Haritashya, U.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2642-2_50
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