Question

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storms cross the ice cap of greenland and leave behind a blanket of snow. unlike snow in a warmer climate, this blanket doesnt melt. over the course of several months, it changes into firn, a granular snow. snow continues to fall and change into firn. imagine the firn that accumulates over 20 years! it is compressed into very dense ice by the weight of growing layers. pressure from the enormous weight of the ice on top pushes down and forces the ice near the edge to flow seaward through openings in the fringe of the mountains. it is a little like water leaking out of a cracked bowl. the slow - moving rivers of ice known as glaciers travel up to 65 feet a day, eventually pushing fingers of ice all the way to greenlands western coast. the tips of the fingers, huge slabs of ice, are weakened as they reach the sea and then broken by the action of the rising and falling tides. this process is called calving and results in an icebergs birth. three thousand years will pass by the time the mountains of ice are born.

1. what is firn?
2. what metaphors are used in this paragraph?
3. what would be a good title for this informational paragraph?

write
write a brief summary of the life cycle of an iceberg.

Explanation:

1. The text states that over several months, snow in Greenland changes into firn, which is a granular snow.
2. The metaphors are "the ice near the edge to flow like water leaking out of a cracked bowl" comparing ice - flow to water leakage, and "slow - moving rivers of ice" comparing glaciers to rivers.
3. The paragraph describes the formation process of icebergs in Greenland starting from snow, through firn and ice formation, glacier movement, and iceberg calving. For the summary, we extract the key steps of the iceberg life - cycle from the text.

Answer:

1. Firn is a granular snow that forms when snow in Greenland doesn't melt over several months and accumulates.
2. "Water leaking out of a cracked bowl" for ice - flow and "rivers of ice" for glaciers.
3. The Formation of Icebergs in Greenland

Write: Snow falls on Greenland's ice cap and doesn't melt. It turns into firn over months. Firn accumulates and is compressed into dense ice. Glaciers form and move seaward. At the sea, the ice tips are broken by tides in a process called calving, creating icebergs.