Why do glaciers always melt from bottom?

Aside from the well known effects of pressure liquefaction, the source of heat for melting is isotropic. It is sometimes assumed that atmospheric and heat from the sun are the only sources melting glaciers. read more

Glaciers and snow reflect external radiation, especially in polar regions where for a significant part of the year there is no incident sunlight on glacial surfaces at all. Illumination by scattered light is the only top surface energy input. However, the heat from the internals of the earth is always present. read more

These are questions scientists’ wonder too, and they’ve been getting some interesting answers. Virtually every glacier on earth melts each year during the summer, but as long as winter snow accumulation is equal to or greater than that summer melt, a glacier is considered to be stable or growing. read more

Glaciers do melt. Last week I hiked from the edge of the Exit Glacier to the Harding Ice Field. It was melting so much you could hear a river of water running down it and see the runoff in several spots. read more