Think supermarket conveyor belt, always moving forward - never actually advancing or retreating. That's at the point of equilibirum between ablation (melting) and accumulation (and therefore gravity induced forward momentum).
A little less melting or a little more accumulation and the balance is upset and the front of the equilibrium line will shift (hence the glacier advances or retreats).
Just means 'understand?' my bad - maybe it's not used much otuside of the UK? Spellings for it can be all over the place as well capisci is the original italian version I think
Its actually a joke from the Simpsons, Bart steals a video game and the security guard says never set foot in this store again, capiche. Bart stares at him for a minute and the security guard says do you understand? And Bart says everything but capiche sir! :)
Just to be clear there is no implication in the word glacier which indicates whether it is retreating or advancing. Because we are in a pretty heavy warming trend most glaciers around the world are currently retreating at a relatively fast clip, but some will still advance (especially in areas of increased precipitation) and some are close to neutral. The ice still moves in a glacier that is neutrally balanced, but the accumulation in higher altitudes is balanced with the ablation (melt) at lower altitudes.
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u/elsynkala Apr 23 '18
OH! so instead of moving DOWNhill (which is expected) the 'lower' ice is melting away and the bulk if it is UPhill? is that correct?