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Glaciers – nature's frozen rivers
A huge quantity of fresh water is frozen in polar ice caps and in high mountain glaciers. Snow that is packed down over many years at high elevations becomes glacial ice, which slowly proceeds downslope like a frozen river, under the pull of gravity, and eventually melts to become part of streamflow at lower elevations. If the rate of melting is greater than the rate of accumulation, the glacier recedes; if it is less, the glacier advances.
Glaciers exert a direct influence on the hydrologic cycle by slowing the passage of water through the cycle. Like lakes and groundwater reservoirs, glaciers are excellent natural storehouses, releasing water when it is needed most. Glaciers, however, can release water when you need it least. Glacier-outburst floods, called jökulhlaups, can be devastating. Glacier-fed rivers reach their peak during hot summer weather.
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