The mechanisms controlling mass balance of ice sheets (IMAGE)
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The mechanisms controlling mass balance of ice sheets. When ice sheets flow along the land and reach the ocean, the bottom of the ice floats in the water due to buoyancy, forming a floating ice called the ice shelf. The flow of the ice shelf is accelerated due to the elimination of friction with the land. In addition, because seawater has a higher temperature than the atmosphere, the melting of the bottom of the ice shelf is accelerated. The ice shelf breaks off and forms icebergs at their terminuses, a process called calving. When the terminuses that held back the outflow of inland ice disappear, the glaciers further flow out faster toward the sea. (Illustration by Shin Sugiyama)
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Shin Sugiyama
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