Chapter 19, Problem 1LC

To determine

The similarities and differences of highland ice fields and continental ice sheets.

Answer to Problem 1LC

Both highland ice fields and continental ice sheets are continuous covers of glacial ice; The difference between them are that the highland ice fields are found only in high-elevated mountain regions, and are much smaller in surface area than continental ice sheets. The continental ice sheets are several meters deep and wide that develop over the non-mountainous areas of the continents such as Greenland and Antarctica.

Explanation of Solution

Highland ice field:

A highland icefield is an unconfined ice sheet accumulation in a high-mountainous region that extends a few hundred or few thousand square kilometers. It encloses all the underlying topography except for some protruding pinnacles called “nunataks”. These highland icefields are significant in portion of the high country of western Canada and southern Alaska and on various islands of the Arctic, specifically Iceland.

Continental ice sheets:

A massive blanket of ice that completely engulfs the landmass underneath to about hundreds or thousands of meters depth. The depth of the ice sheets are greater in its interior and thins out at the outer edges. These are formed in non-mountainous areas of continents. There are only two true ice sheets currently, in Antarctica and Greenland.