Book 18, Question 11
What Is the Difference Between Sea Ice and an Ice Sheet?
Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats, and an ice sheet is a giant thick layer of ice sitting on land! They are both ice, but they are very different. Let's compare.
More fun facts
- Sea ice is frozen seawater that forms on the ocean.
- Icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves all start on land.
- Greenland's ice sheet is nearly two miles thick in places.
- The ice is so heavy it has pressed some of the land down below sea level.
- Under parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the land may be 1.5 miles below sea level.
Sources: NOAA Ocean Service, U.S. Geological Survey, NASA Earth Observatory
Questions kids ask
How thick is Greenland's ice?
Nearly two miles thick in places, so heavy it has pressed some of the land below sea level.