winnie - please do a little more research on glaciers
1. The rate of glacial movement does not cause sufficient ‘friction’ to generate melt water. Melt water comes from the top of the glacier from seasonal snow melts and works it way into the base of glaciers.
2. fissures and cracks are created in the brittle upper surface of glaciers as they pass over/around subsurface features, they do form a passage way for surface melt water to reach the base of glacers.
3. Melting doesn’t cause calving - that is when the ice breaks off generally into water.
Stuff it, never said that Calving was caused by melting...
Second, what on the friction? Landscapes have changed through Millenia by the grinding of glaciers on top of them...see the northwest.
Third as for ur Fissure issues....for “God”s sake read a bit before relying on your limited knowledge base. Here are a few articles...
http://www.king5.com/news/Thousands-of-Ice-quakes-detected-on-Mt-Rainier—95996979.html
http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/ice-quake/
If you want to google Icequakes, I am sure you will find plenty more...
And directly to your point of friction as the coupling of ice and terra....
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006AGUFM.C41A0319L
Winone is quite right. Fissures are a consequence of differential velocity through the ice column that is a result of friction with the substrate or obstacles. With the increase in pressure at depth, ice becomes plastic. At the contact area, friction and pressure contribute to the formation of a thin layer of liquid water below a glacier. Additionally, geothermal heat can account for liquid water below a glacier.
Thanks for the information.