tidewater glacier

A tidewater glacier is a glacier that extends to the sea and typically breaks off into icebergs. These glaciers are the ocean-terminating extensions of ice streams originating from ice fields, ice caps, or ice sheets. Some tidewater glaciers flow at high speeds, similar to surging glaciers, but do so continuously. They can also advance and retreat periodically, independent of climate variations. The speed at which icebergs calve from these glaciers is thought to be related to the water depth at the glacier's terminus. This relationship can lead to cycles of advance and retreat, where shallow water inhibits calving and allows the glacier to advance, while deeper water increases calving and causes retreat.12