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Do I need my skis or shorts & sun-screen for my holiday in the mountains - what is happening to the Earths Glaciers?This is a wide-ranging enquiry, aimed at AS/A2 level students, covering the topic of glaciology, investigating the processes involved in the formation and movement of glaciers, the land forms they create, and ultimately to encourage students to explore the possible effects of global climate change on glacial processes. The effects on human activity are also investigated. This enquiry may also be used to satisfy certain Key Skills criteria with regard to ICT and/or Communication. Atlas work is also incorporated into this enquiry, thereby enhancing knowledge of place. By following the enquiry framework, students will develop their understanding of glacial processes, terms, and landscape features, and decide for themselves whether or not the concept of global warming is responsible for the recession of glaciers in many different locations around the world.
1) What is a glacier? How are they formed? What sort of landscape features might I expect to find in an area that has been subjected to glaciation in the past? The following links will help you answer these questions. Much of the information available tends to concentrate on North American glaciers, though. Do you think it holds true for European glaciers, or those in New Zealand for example? http://nsidc.org/glaciers/index.html - has many links off to help you answer these questions; http://tvl1.geo.uc.edu/ice/Image/imageref.html - has a good cross section and other useful information about glaciers. http://www.oneplaneteducation.com/volcanoes/alaska_new_1/glacier/glacier_lk.html ; can also be used, but some of the links are a little simplistic at this level. 2) Can you think of anywhere in Britain that shows clear evidence of former glaciation? How can you tell? The following link should help you identify such an area in Britain; www.bennett.karoo.net/topics/glaciation.html - just bear in mind that with the link on this page to the Matterhorn, this mountain is on the Swiss-Italian border, and not in Austria, as it states here! Remember to include the correct glaciological terms when describing landscape features. When did glaciers cover this area in Britain - and why are they not there now? Waugh's A level text, "Geography - an Integrated Approach", p103 will help you familiarise yourself with another area in Britain that has been subjected to glaciation. 3) The effect of latitude. Latitude plays a big part in the presence of glaciers. Glaciation occurs at Sea Level at the Poles, around 1500 metres in Scandinavia, around 3000 metres in the Alps, and 5000 metres at the Equator. Try and find the following glaciers in an Atlas to help clarify this: Vatnajokull, Columbia, Rongbuk, Mer-de-Glace. A knowledge of the world's mountain ranges will help here! If you can't find them, try using an internet search engine such as www.google.com to help. 4) What about climate change? Is the Earth really warming up as a result of man's activities? This is a huge issue, so don't get too bogged down with it for this topic - remember to refer to possible effects on glaciation. However, an appreciation of the extent of climate change is important at AS/A level, and you need to have a good grasp of the magnitude of global temperature change, and it's possible causes and effects for a number of study topics. The following site has information (and links to other sites) on climate change; www.gcrio.org/ - has links to NASA AND Worldbank sites on climate change - you'll need to scroll down to locate the temperature change graphs, one of which is displayed below, showing projected temperature rises as a result of increased 'greenhouse gas' levels in the atmosphere.
Consider this though - is this all as cut and dried as we are often led to believe? After all, the Earth has gone through cooler and warmer (glacial and interglacial) periods over geological history, long before the intervention of man.
Look at the graph above, charting ice levels over the past 700,000 years, and the following site, and some of the links off it, then make up your own mind. You will notice from the graph above a peak of ice levels at around 10,000 years ago. What does this correspond with? Remember to give evidence to support your conclusions. 5) What is happening to glaciers at different locations at the moment? Are they all retreating? Or are some still advancing? Why might this be? This is the crux of the enquiry so make sure you look at all the evidence available. A number of websites exist which look at changes in the extent of ice cover by different glaciers in different locations around the Globe. Try the following sites; http://www.ec.gc.ca/science/sandejan00/article3_e.html www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF8/890.html www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF1/102.html www.toptotop.org/info/aim/report/glaciers.shtml Why might the change in levels of ice be more marked in some locations than others? Locate the different glaciers in an Atlas. Produce printouts to help illustrate the text in your report. 6) What consequences might the change in glaciation have for human economic activity and the tourism industry? Many places in the European Alps and elsewhere depend on their nearby glaciers as a primary resource for tourism and recreation. The following websites show what may happen to particular valleys in Switzerland as a result of changes to the volume of ice in the glacier; http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~geo101vc/Lecture2/sld012.htm Here is a model from North America too. http://nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/glacier_model.htm What consequences might this have for a range of economic activities in this area? 7) Conclusions. What do you think? Remember to draw valid conclusions when producing your report or presentation. What evidence backs up your findings? Do you feel there is conclusive evidence to suggest that global warming is responsible for the retreat of some glaciers? If this is not happening in all cases, why do you think this is? Do you think this is something people should be concerned about? Why? Use search engines such as www.google.com to help you locate more information, or use the search facility on www.bbc.co.uk for example.
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