Eli5. Salt melts ice. Glaciers sit in an ocean of salt. Glaciers don’t melt.
In: Earth Science
You have several misconceptions here. Salt doesn’t melt ice, it just lowers the freezing point of water so water has to be colder to freeze and ice will melt and colder temperatures. Also, glaciers are not on water. A glacier is, by definition, on land.
Now if you’re asking about sea ice, yes, salt in the ocean lowers the freezing point of the water slightly from 32 degrees F (0C) to about 28.5 F (-2C), but there’s still (for the time being) sea ice that’s below 28.5 degrees, so it doesn’t melt.
Glaciers sit on land. Land is made of dirt and rock. It doesn’t have much salt.
Now, icebergs which are in the water melt. That’s why the entire surface of the oceans isn’t covered in icebergs.
Glaciers don’t melt? They’re melting at a record pace.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/satellites-show-worlds-glaciers-melting-faster-ever-rcna791
at 35g/kg salinity, the [Freezing Point Depression](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freezing-point_depression) effect of regular sea water is only a few degrees below normal freezing. if the seawater is cold enough the iceberg won’t melt and can last for years. this is no longer the case though for most areas with icebergs, due to climate change
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