Visualization compares the morphology of Earth’s largest ice flows
Scientists recently created the first systematic ranking of the Earth’s largest glaciers. They started by comparing inconsistent databases to choose the shape that best defined a glacier. However, it is difficult to determine the boundaries of individual glaciers. For example, ice caps move in multiple directions, so multiple glaciers could be part of one source of her. Co-author Bruce Raup of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said:
At lower elevations, glaciers may converge, making it unclear whether they count as one or more celestial bodies. Despite the challenges, the result is that he tallies over 200,000 glaciers and glacial complexes (glaciers that share a common boundary). The Cellar Glacier and the Antarctic Peninsula ice body each top the list. “The more accurately we can map the contours of glaciers, the more accurately we can track their melting due to climate change,” said lead author Ann Windnagel of NSIDC.
This article was originally published in Scientific American 328, 1, 62 (January 2023) under the title “World’s Largest Glacier”.
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0123-62
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