Hi all, I think there might be a mistake in the descriptions of "ice_sheet" and/or "land_ice" in the "area type" table at http://cfconventions.org/Data/area-type-table/current/build/area-type-table.html .
I find there the following definitions: ice_sheet: An area type of "ice sheet" indicates where ice sheets are present. It includes both grounded ice sheets resting over bedrock and ice shelves flowing over the ocean, but excludes ice-caps and glaciers (in contrast to land_ice, which includes all components). land_ice: "Land ice" means glaciers, ice-caps, grounded ice sheets resting on bedrock and floating ice-shelves. ice_on_land: The area type "ice_on_land" means ice in glaciers, ice caps, grounded ice sheets (grounded and floating shelves), river and lake ice, and any other ice on a land surface, such as frozen flood water. This is distinct from the area type 'land ice' which has a narrower definition. Are "ice-caps" and "glaciers" really excluded from "ice_sheet". I would have thought that "ice-cap" would be an ice_sheet located over a pole (or something to that effect). And i thought ice_sheets were just big glaciers. ice_on_land is pretty clearly any frozen water, except sea ice, icebergs, and ice particles in clouds, that is exposed to the atmosphere. So, I guess I'm trying to understand the difference between ice_sheet and land_ice, and why do we need both of these? thanks and best regards, Karl _______________________________________________ CF-metadata mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.cgd.ucar.edu/mailman/listinfo/cf-metadata
