Question

How can the melting of an ice sheet or glacier affect a river's drainage? (Choose all that apply.)

a) Increase the volume of water flowing into the river
b) Change the river's course and direction
c) Decrease the river's water temperature
d) Create new tributaries

Answer 1

The melting of a glacier increases water volume and can change a river's course, create new tributaries, and decrease water temperature. An on-land glacier's melt would most increase a lake's water level as opposed to an iceberg, because the iceberg's volume is already partly displacing water in the lake.

Step-by-step explanation:

The melting of an ice sheet or glacier can significantly alter a river's drainage in various ways.

Concerning the impact of melting ice on a lake's water level, the glacier on land would cause the greatest increase because while both have the same volume, the iceberg's volume is already partly displacing water in the lake, and thus its melting does not add the full volume of water to the lake's level.

However, when the glacier melts, its entire volume contributes to the lake's level, thereby increasing it more substantially.