| Term: | Temperate ice |
| Definition: |
(1) Ice that contains a liquid phase of no more than moderate salinity with which it is in thermodynamic equilibrium at the solidliquid phase boundaries. (2) Less precisely, ice that is at its pressure-melting point. Other factors, notably the salinity of water inclusions, can be of comparable importance to the hydrostatic pressure for determination of the melting point. Sense 2 is adequate for simple purposes, but the details illuminated by Lliboutry (1971) and Harrison (1972) are likely to be of practical importance in detailed work. IHPGlacierMassBalance
Ice which is at the pressure melting point, and therefore usually wet. Swisseduc GCW |