| Term: | Firnspiegel |
| Definition: |
A thin sheet of ice formed on the glacier surface by rapid refreezing of solar-heated snow or firn, usually at high elevations during spring. NSIDCCryosphere
A thin, highly reflective sheet of clear ice formed at the snow surface; formed in spring when subfreezing air temperatures combine with subsurface melting (due to penetration of solar energy into the snow). AMSglossary GCW |