Cryospheric water

Question 1

sea ice forms when

Answer 1

sea water is cooled to below freezing

Question 2

when sea ice melts, it

Answer 2

does not increase the sea level because it is made from sea ice in the first place

Question 3

ice shelves are

Answer 3

platforms of ice that form where ice sheets and glaciers move out into the oceans

Question 4

icebergs are

Answer 4

chunks which break off ice shelves and drift into the ocean

Question 5

icebergs raise sea level only when they

Answer 5

enter the ocean, not when they melt

Question 6

ice sheets are

Answer 6

a mass of glacial land extending more than 50,000 km2

Question 7

the two major ice sheets on earth are

Answer 7

Greenland and Antarctica

Question 8

together, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets contain

Answer 8

more than 99% of the freshwater ice on Earth

Question 9

the Antarctic ice Sheet contains …..km3 of ice

Answer 9

30 million km3

Question 10

ice sheets form in area where

Answer 10

winter snow fall is not completely melted in summer

Question 11

ice sheets form over….of years

Answer 11

thousands

Question 12

ice sheets are constantly in

Answer 12

motion, flowing out to sea under the influence of their own weigth

Question 13

if the antarctic ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by

Answer 13

60 metres!

Question 14

ice caps re

Answer 14

layers of ice on land smaller than 50,000 km2

Question 15

ice caps are usually found in

Answer 15

mountainous regions and are usually dome-shaped

Question 16

ice caps are major sources of

Answer 16

glaciers

Question 17

alpine glaciers are

Answer 17

thick masses of ice found in deep valleys or in hollow areas

Question 18

permafrost is

Answer 18

ground (soil or rock) that remains at or below 0 degrees for two consecutive years

Question 19

permafrost can also occur

Answer 19

on the seadbed on the arctic and antarctic continents

Question 20

when permafrost melts, it releases trapped

Answer 20

co2 and ch4 in vast amounts