Disciplines

Glaciology

glay-see-OL-uh-jee

Cryosphere Science

Citation Formats

General Reference

Earth and Environment Atlas. "Glaciology." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/disciplines/glaciology.

APA Style

Earth and Environment Atlas. (n.d.). Glaciology. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/disciplines/glaciology

BibTeX

@misc{earthandenvironmentatlas-glaciology,
  author = {Earth and Environment Atlas},
  title = {Glaciology},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/disciplines/glaciology},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The scientific study of glaciers and, more generally, of ice and the natural phenomena that involve it. It is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, geomorphology, climatology, meteorology and hydrology, and the discovery of water ice on the Moon, Mars, Europa and Pluto has added an extraterrestrial branch known as astroglaciology.

Facts

Central Question

How do glaciers and natural ice behave, and what phenomena do they drive? 1

Scope

Glaciology studies ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice and other forms of natural ice, including their flow, mass balance and history. 1

Significance

Glaciology's measurements of ice loss are a primary line of evidence for the rate of modern climate change and a major driver of projected sea-level rise. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections