02 - The Paradox of Melt

In Episode 2 of Ways of Ice, we explore one of the central paradoxes of glaciology: glaciers can grow and melt at the same time. Through the concepts of accumulation, ablation, and mass balance, this episode explains how glaciers respond to climate and why glacier health cannot be understood through temperature alone. Along the way, we investigate why glaciers exist in places that are often warm, wet, and melting, and how scientists use the equilibrium line to measure whether glaciers are growing or shrinking. By the end, glaciers emerge not as static blocks of ice, but as dynamic systems constantly balancing gain against loss.