Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames existed, namely xing (Chinese: å§; pinyin: xÃ¬ng) or lineage names, and shi (Chinese: æ°; pinyin: shÃ¬) or clan names.
An ice sheet is a large permanent layer of ice covering a continental shelf, defined as having an extent greater than 50,000 km2 (19,305 mi2). An ice sheet is larger than a glacier or ice shelf.
Ice is water frozen into a solid state. Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaque bluish-white color.