mannerjäätiköinä

Mannerjäätiköinä is a Finnish term referring to ice sheets, which are large masses of glacier ice that cover a minimum of 50,000 square kilometers of land. These vast ice bodies are found in polar regions and are the largest continental glaciers on Earth. Currently, there are only two ice sheets remaining: the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Ice sheets play a crucial role in Earth's climate system. Their immense size and reflectivity (albedo) influence global temperatures by reflecting solar radiation back into space. The melting and formation of ice sheets also contribute to global sea level changes. Over geological timescales, ice sheets have advanced and retreated, shaping landscapes through erosion and deposition of glacial till.

The formation of an ice sheet begins with the accumulation of snow over thousands of years. As snow accumulates, the pressure from overlying layers compacts it into firn, and eventually into dense glacial ice. This ice then flows outward from the center of accumulation due to its own weight. Studying ice sheets provides valuable information about past climate conditions, as trapped air bubbles in the ice contain atmospheric samples from ancient times. Understanding the dynamics and potential future behavior of mannerjäätiköinä is vital for predicting climate change impacts, particularly concerning sea level rise.