Yes, ice worms do, in fact, exist! They are small worms that live in glacial ice in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia; they have not been found in glaciers elsewhere. Contrary to stories and songs, they do not give glacier ice its blue color and they don't grow to lengths of 50 feet. These myths were made popular by poet Robert Service and the annual Cordova Iceworm Festival in Alaska.
Ice worms belong to the genus Mesenchytraeus, the same genus as earthworms. Ice worms are the only annelid worms known to spend their entire lives on glacier ice. Ice worms can be up to an inch long, and can be black or blue in color. The ice worms come to the surface of the glaciers in the evening and morning to feed on snow algae.
Learn more: USGS Water Science School - Glaciers: Things to Know
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How old is glacier ice?
The age of the oldest glacier ice in Antarctica may approach 1,000,000 years old The age of the oldest glacier ice in Greenland is more than 100,000 years old The age of the oldest Alaskan glacier ice ever recovered (from a basin between Mt. Bona and Mt. Churchill) is about 30,000 years old. Glacier flow moves newly formed ice through the entire length of a typical Alaskan valley glacier in 100...
How do we know glaciers are shrinking?
Repeat photography and aerial / satellite photo analysis provide evidence of glacier loss in terms of shape and area. The USGS Benchmark Glacier project has collected mass balance data on a network of glaciers in Alaska, Washington, and Montana for decades, quantifying trends of mass loss at all sites. Extensive field data collection at these sites includes twice yearly visits to measure seasonal...
Are today's glaciers leftovers from the Pleistocene ice age?
Yes and no. It depends on which glaciers you are considering. Parts of the Antarctic Continent have had continuous glacier cover for perhaps as long as 20 million years. Other areas, such as valley glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula and glaciers of the Transantarctic Mountains may date from the early Pleistocene. For Greenland, ice cores and related data suggest that all of southern Greenland and...
Is glacier ice a type of rock?
Glacier ice, like limestone (for example), is a type of rock. Glacier ice is actually a mono-mineralic rock (a rock made of only one mineral, like limestone which is composed of the mineral calcite). The mineral ice is the crystalline form of water (H2O). Most glacier ice forms through the metamorphism of tens of thousands of individual snowflakes into crystals of glacier ice. Each snow flake is a...
How much of the Earth's water is stored in glaciers?
About 2.1% of all of Earth's water is frozen in glaciers. 97.2% is in the oceans and inland seas 2.1% is in glaciers 0.6% is in groundwater and soil moisture less than 1% is in the atmosphere less than 1% is in lakes and rivers less than 1% is in all living plants and animals. About three-quarters of Earth's freshwater is stored in glaciers. Therefore, glacier ice is the second largest reservoir...
How would sea level change if all glaciers melted?
There is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, but if all of them were to melt, global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet. Learn more: USGS Water Science School: Glaciers and Icecaps National Snow and Ice Data Center: Facts about Glaciers U.S. Global Change Research Program: Sea...
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- FAQ
How old is glacier ice?
The age of the oldest glacier ice in Antarctica may approach 1,000,000 years old The age of the oldest glacier ice in Greenland is more than 100,000 years old The age of the oldest Alaskan glacier ice ever recovered (from a basin between Mt. Bona and Mt. Churchill) is about 30,000 years old. Glacier flow moves newly formed ice through the entire length of a typical Alaskan valley glacier in 100...
How do we know glaciers are shrinking?
Repeat photography and aerial / satellite photo analysis provide evidence of glacier loss in terms of shape and area. The USGS Benchmark Glacier project has collected mass balance data on a network of glaciers in Alaska, Washington, and Montana for decades, quantifying trends of mass loss at all sites. Extensive field data collection at these sites includes twice yearly visits to measure seasonal...
Are today's glaciers leftovers from the Pleistocene ice age?
Yes and no. It depends on which glaciers you are considering. Parts of the Antarctic Continent have had continuous glacier cover for perhaps as long as 20 million years. Other areas, such as valley glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula and glaciers of the Transantarctic Mountains may date from the early Pleistocene. For Greenland, ice cores and related data suggest that all of southern Greenland and...
Is glacier ice a type of rock?
Glacier ice, like limestone (for example), is a type of rock. Glacier ice is actually a mono-mineralic rock (a rock made of only one mineral, like limestone which is composed of the mineral calcite). The mineral ice is the crystalline form of water (H2O). Most glacier ice forms through the metamorphism of tens of thousands of individual snowflakes into crystals of glacier ice. Each snow flake is a...
How much of the Earth's water is stored in glaciers?
About 2.1% of all of Earth's water is frozen in glaciers. 97.2% is in the oceans and inland seas 2.1% is in glaciers 0.6% is in groundwater and soil moisture less than 1% is in the atmosphere less than 1% is in lakes and rivers less than 1% is in all living plants and animals. About three-quarters of Earth's freshwater is stored in glaciers. Therefore, glacier ice is the second largest reservoir...
How would sea level change if all glaciers melted?
There is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, but if all of them were to melt, global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet. Learn more: USGS Water Science School: Glaciers and Icecaps National Snow and Ice Data Center: Facts about Glaciers U.S. Global Change Research Program: Sea...
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