ice sheet

noun

Definition of ice sheet

: ice cap sense 1

Examples of ice sheet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web On Earth, this type of heating, called geothermal heat, can be seen in subglacial lakes forming in parts of the West Antarctic ice sheet, the Canadian Arctic and Greenland. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Potential life on ancient Mars likely lived below the surface, study says," 2 Dec. 2020 More dark grit, then, could be absorbing more of the sun’s energy, and accelerating the melting of the ice sheet. — Matt Simon, Wired, "Sun-Loving Bacteria May Be Accelerating Glacial Melting," 25 Jan. 2021 More lakes are forming and at higher, colder elevations on the ice sheet. — Chris Mooney, Anchorage Daily News, "Scientists descended into Greenland’s perilous ice caverns - and came back with a worrying message," 23 Dec. 2020 The temperature of the water in contact with the ice sheet is 32 degrees, but a few feet below the ice the temperature remains above freezing, reaching 39 degrees on the bottom. — Jim Gilbert, Star Tribune, "Naturalist has been watching freeze-up for decades; don't equate it with ice safety," 10 Dec. 2020 Also in August, in unsettling news, scientists said that Greenland's melting ice sheet had passed the point of no return. — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, "The coronavirus vaccine wasn't the only amazing discovery: A look at all the ways science thrived in 2020," 22 Dec. 2020 Greenland's ice sheet is a dynamic place that is constantly shifting and moving. — Helen Regan And Drew Kann, CNN, "Greenland's glaciers could lose more ice than previously thought, raising concerns for sea level rise," 17 Nov. 2020 Steffen predicted the ice sheet could disappear in as little as 50 years, resulting in a global sea-level rise of 16 feet. — Reginald Dwayne Betts Kiese Makeba Laymon Carina Del Valle Schorske Dessa Irina Aleksander Sam Dolnick Mark Binelli Maggie Jones Rob Hoerburger Jamie Lauren Keiles Devin Gordon Jazmine Hughes Jenna Wortham Jade Chang Taffy Brodesser-akner Kaitlyn Greenidge Rowan Ricardo Phillips Michael Paterniti Wesley Morris Ismail Muhammad Anthony Giardina, New York Times, "Remembering some of the artists, innovators and thinkers we lost in the past year.," 23 Dec. 2020 Three times the size of Texas, the Greenland ice sheet covers around 656,000 square miles. — Hazel Pfeifer, CNN, "A 'frozen rainforest' of microscopic life is melting Greenland's ice sheet," 14 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ice sheet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

16 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Ice sheet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ice%20sheet. Accessed 27 Feb. 2021.

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More Definitions for ice sheet

ice sheet

noun

English Language Learners Definition of ice sheet

: a very large and thick area of ice that covers a region

See the full definition for ice sheet in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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