Crevasses open when brittle glacier ice stretches over steep drops
Near the surface, glacier ice is cold and brittle. When the ice accelerates over a bedrock step or bends around a curve, tensile stress rips open deep crevasses — slots that can plunge tens of meters.
Snow bridges may hide the gaps, making travel across glaciers hazardous. Deeper ice stays more plastic and closes cracks slowly as it flows.
Ice fails like glass at the top. Crevasses reveal that glaciers are rivers of solid, not soft snow — stretched until they fracture.
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