Ice sheet

Okay kiddo, picture a big, big ice cube. Now put millions of ice cubes together to make an even bigger ice cube that covers an entire continent. That's what we call an ice sheet.

You see, long ago, the temperature in some parts of the world was super cold. In those places, snow would fall every year and over hundreds and thousands of years, that snow would just keep on piling up on top of each other. As more and more snow piled up, it began to get squished down by the weight of the new snow on top. This made the snow at the bottom of the pile turn into ice.

Over even more time, this ice got so gigantic that it covered whole areas of land, almost like a frozen blanket. That's what we call a big ice sheet! And even though the snow stops falling, it still stays there frozen as ice.

Now, ice sheets can be very important to the earth. They help to keep things cool and keep the ocean levels low. But sometimes, the earth can get too warm, and the ice sheets can start melting. When they melt too much, it can cause the ocean levels to rise and that can be bad for people and animals that live near the shore. So it's important to take care of our big ice sheets and not let them melt too much.