mantereenjäätikköä

Mantereenjäätikköjä, a Finnish term, refers to an ice sheet that covers a continental landmass. These are enormous, thick accumulations of glacial ice that form over land, not the sea. The most prominent examples of mantereenjäätikköjä on Earth today are the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Greenland Ice Sheet. These ice sheets are dynamic entities, constantly accumulating snow and ice, and also losing mass through melting and calving of icebergs into the ocean. Their formation is a slow process that requires sustained periods of cold temperatures and significant snowfall over thousands of years.

The sheer volume of ice within mantereenjäätikköjä is immense, holding vast quantities of freshwater. Fluctuations in their size and mass have a significant impact on global sea levels. During glacial periods, ice sheets grow larger, drawing down sea levels, while during interglacial periods, they shrink, contributing to rising sea levels. The study of ancient ice cores extracted from mantereenjäätikköjä provides invaluable data about past climate conditions and atmospheric composition, offering insights into Earth's climate history. The ongoing melting of these ice sheets due to global warming is a major concern for future sea-level rise and its consequences for coastal regions worldwide.