The movement of ice over the ground in most temperate glaciers is enhanced by a process known as basal sliding . The melting ice then forms a layer of water that reduces the friction between the glacial ice and the ground surface. This water then facilitates the movement of the ice over the ground surface by producing a layer with very little friction. Because of basal sliding, some glaciers can move up to 50 meters in one day. However, average rates of movement are usually less than 1 meter per day.
Cold glaciers tend to move very slowly because there is no basal sliding.
Movement in these glaciers takes place mainly due to internal slippage of the ice over the ground. Glacier Mass Balance Scientists often view glaciers as systems that are influenced by a number of inputs and outputs . The main inputs to the glacial system are water, in the form of snow , and eroded sediments that are picked up by the moving ice. Water leaves the glacial system when ice is converted into water or vapor. Sediment is deposited at the base of the glacier as till and at its terminal end as moraines or materials reworked by glaciofluvial processes.