{{Short description|Glacial ice which is no longer moving}} thumb|Dead Ice (transparent area) found in south of Hohe Geige; a mountain in Austria. '''Dead ice''' is the ice in a part of a glacier or ice sheet that is no longer moving.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dead ice |url=https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glossary/term/dead-ice |website=Cryosphere Glossary |publisher=National Snow & Ice Data Center |access-date=5 September 2021}}</ref> As the ice melts, it leaves behind a hummocky terrain known as '''dead-ice moraine.''' Dead-ice moraine is produced by the accumulation of sediments carried by glaciers that have been left behind from ice melting. Features of such terrain include kettle holes.<ref>Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, p. 133. {{ISBN|0-14-051094-X}}.</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |last1=Bluemle |first1=John P |title=Buried Glaciers and Dead-Ice Moraine |url=https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/ndnotes/ndn14_h.htm |access-date=7 September 2021 |website=North Dakota Notes |publisher=North Dakota Geological Survey}}</ref> Landscapes forming Veiki moraines in northern Sweden and Canada have been attributed to the erosion of extensive bodies of till-covered dead ice.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lagerbäck |first=Robert |date=1988 |title=The Veiki moraines in northern Sweden - widespread evidence of an Early Weichselian deglaciation |journal=Boreas |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=469–486|doi=10.1111/j.1502-3885.1988.tb00562.x |bibcode=1988Borea..17..469L }}</ref>
== Formation == Dead ice is created when a glacier or ice sheet experiences an increase in melting and accumulates debris from various sediment sources. The debris seeps into the ice, effectively covering the surface area.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Schomacker |first=Anders |date=2008–2011 |title=What controls dead-ice melting under different climate conditions? A discussion |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2008.08.003 |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |volume=90 |issue=3–4 |pages=103–113 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2008.08.003 |bibcode=2008ESRv...90..103S |issn=0012-8252|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This leads to the affected area becoming mixed with different types of debris, ultimately slowing the glacier's melting rate.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /> This process continues over and over, creating layers of ice and debris, until it forms dead ice. Dead ice most commonly occurs on surge-type glaciers that have ceased moving.<ref name=":1" /> It can also be found in any stagnant or debris-filled glacier landforms.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |title=7 Dead-Ice Environments: A Landsystems Model for a Debris-Charged, Stagnant Lowland Glacier Margin, Kötlujökull |date=2010-01-01 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1571086609013074 |volume=13 |pages=105–126 |access-date=2023-11-10 |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/S1571-0866(09)01307-4 |bibcode=2010DevQS..13..105K |language=en-US |last1=Krüger |first1=Johannes |last2=Kjær |first2=Kurt H. |last3=Schomacker |first3=Anders |series=Developments in Quaternary Sciences |isbn=978-0-444-53045-5 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== Melting == There are two types of ways dead ice can melt: backwasting and downwasting. Backwasting is when the dead ice melts parallel to an ice-wall or ice-cored slope. Backwasting is more likely to occur when an area is fully ice-cored.<ref name=":0" /> Downwasting is when dead ice melts at its top and bottom surfaces. Both dead ice melting rates depend on the climate condition of the area it is in; however downwasting has several other factors that contribute to its process.<ref name=":1" /> Another factor that affects both melting rates is the type of debris that covers the dead ice.<ref name=":1" />
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Category:Glaciology