Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers

2011 Edition
| Editors: Vijay P. Singh, Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya

Greenland Glaciers Outside the Ice Sheet

  • Jacob C. Yde
Reference work entry
First Online:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2642-2_643
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Synonyms

Local glaciers

Definition

Greenland Ice Sheet. The continental ice sheet occupying the central area of Greenland. It is often referred to as the Inland Ice or abbreviated as GIS.

Local glaciers. A term used to address all peripheral glaciers outside a continental ice sheet. In the context of Greenland, the term covers all glaciers in Greenland except the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Introduction

The local glaciers in Greenland can easily be overlooked in the presence of the vast Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) (see entry  Greenland Ice Sheet). This is probably the main reason why relatively limited research has been conducted on these glaciers; despite they cover about 5–10% of the total ice cap and minor glacier area of the world (Weidick and Morris, 1998). Another reason for the lack of research may be the remoteness of many local glaciers, which can be logistically and economically challenging for small research operations.

The definition of a local glacier is not equivocal because some...

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Jacob C. Yde
    • 1
  1. 1.Center for GeomicrobiologyUniversity of AarhusAarhus CDenmark