It's cyclical and it has been happening for millions of years

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:04]Melting glaciers are not as simplistic [music] as the headlines may sound, and the answers begin hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago.

[00:00:13]Glaciers can [music] be separated into two general categories.

[00:00:18]The first are continental-scale [music] bodies of ice found in Antarctica and Greenland that are called ice sheets.

[00:00:25]We'll discuss these [music] in a later video.

[00:00:28]In this video, we will focus on the second type of glaciers that are found in high-latitude [music] and high-altitude areas and are known as alpine, piedmont, or freshwater glaciers.

[00:00:41]During the many frigid [music] epochs in our planet's history, these glaciers expanded, advanced, and even destroyed whole villages in their path.

[00:00:50]During the warmer [music] eras, glaciers have retreated and melted. It's cyclical, and it has been happening [music] for millions of years.