cold glacier

(geology) A glacier whose base is at a temperature much below 32°F (0°C) and frozen to the bedrock, resulting in insignificant movement and almost no erosion.

Sometimes known as a cold-based glacier, or polar glacier, this is a glacier with its base well below 0 °C, unlubricated by meltwater, and therefore frozen to the bedrock. Accumulation is slow; snow may take 150 years to turn to ice. see firn. Cold glaciers move very slowly—rates of 1-2 m per year are not uncommon—therefore they cause very little erosion through abrasion, although plucking may be reinforced.