thumb|upright=1.35|[[Vatnajökull, Iceland]]
In glaciology, an ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than of land area (usually covering a highland area). Larger ice masses covering more than are termed ice sheets.
Description
By definition, ice caps are not constrained by topographical features (i.e., they must lie over the top of mountains). By contrast, ice masses of similar size that are constrained by topographical features are known as ice fields. The dome of an ice cap is usually centred on the highest point of a massif. Ice flows away from this high point (the ice divide) towards the ice cap's periphery.
Formation
Ice caps are formed when snow is deposited during the cold season and fails to completely melt during the hot season. Over time, the snow builds up and becomes dense, well-bonded snow known as perennial firn. Ice cap size can be monitored through different remote-sensing methods such as aircraft and satellite data.
Ice caps accumulate snow on their upper surfaces, and ablate snow on their lower surfaces. and arguably recognized by experts.
Vatnajökull is an example of an ice cap in Iceland.
Plateau glaciers are glaciers that overlie a generally flat highland area. Usually, the ice overflows as hanging glaciers in the lower parts of the edges. An example is Biscayarfonna in Svalbard.
See also
- Glacier
- Iceberg
- Ice cap climate
- Ice core
- Ice shelf
- List of glaciers in Russia
- Sea ice