jonwvara 

Yes, it was indeed started in jest, and probably ill-advisedly--I was trying to redirect my annoyance with the "Orthodoxy Part 1" thread. My annoyance with that one has only grown since then.

That said, it's surprisingly enjoyable to see this turn into glaciology seminar. I have no real training in the area, but have done a lot of glacier travel, have a longstanding interest in glacial landforms, and live a landscape that was heavily glaciated until pretty recently.

So here's a question for someone with real knowledge: I understand that glacial ice does its work of landscape modification both coming and going, as well as through the action of meltwater. But I have always thought that the term "recession" is a little misleading. Even in recession, glaciers typically continue to move forward/downhill, yes? It's just they are melting back a the toe faster than they are advancing? If that's the case, it seems inaccurate to describe a receding glacier--in the case of a continental ice sheet in the northern hemisphere--as moving from south to north. Sure, that's what it looks like, but that not what's really happening, is it? Or is it?