Glacier And Ice Sheet Melting

Question 1

Outline the distribution of glaciers and ice sheets around the world

Answer 1

• currently every continent on earth contains glaciers except for Australia
• estimated 130000 glaciers in the mountainous regions of North America, South Anerica, Europe, Africa, Asia and Antarctica
• the two major ice sheets are found on opposite ends of the globe
• the Antarctic sheet is the largest covering 13 million square kilometres (9% of land on earth)

Question 2

Name and outline two natural and two human characteristics of glaciers and ice sheets

Answer 2

NATURAL

• erosion and deposition creates moraine that can cause landforms such as cirques, horns and arêtes.
• biodiversity is low however polar bears and reindeer predominantly inhabit the ice sheets of the northern hemisphere while penguins and seals in the south. Most common plants are algae, lichens and fungi

HUMAN
- tourist attractions
Eg. The ‘Glacier Express’ in Europe is one of the most popular train journeys. Each year over 250000 tourists take this eight hour trip allowing tourists to observe more than a dozen glaciers

Question 3

How has the distribution of glaciers and ice sheets changed?

Answer 3

• over the last 100 years land covered with ice has decreased considerably as the global climate has warmed
• there is much concern that Africa will soon join Australia as a continent with no glaciers
• the average temperature has increased by at least 7 degrees and sea levels have increased considerably in the last 100 years

Question 4

Name an area that is suffering from glacier and ice sheet retreat.
Outline one reason for this
Outline one impact of this

Answer 4

Greenland

• warming of the global climate has meant that ice in Greenland is melting. Over the last 30 years there has been an escalated Trent in the rate of ice melting in Greenland. In the period 1993-1998 it is estimated the rate of ice lost was 7.3 cubic kilometres per year before increasing to 44 cubic km in 2002 and increased substantially to 249 cubic km in 2006.
• increased levels of the mineral cryoconite on ice has resulted in decreased reflectivity on the ice resulting in the absorption of heat and in turn increasing the rate of melting
• the loss of ice in Greenland has seemed to have caused sea levels to rise globally by 0.5 millimetres per year over the past 30 years.

Question 5

What are the main factors causing change in ice sheet and glacier extent?

Answer 5

• the steady and consistent warming of the earths climate. The average temp in 2014 was 0.7 degrees warmer than twentieth century average temperatures
• greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming

Question 6

What are the natural causes of climate change?

Answer 6

• variations in solar energy
• oceanic circulation changes
• volcanic activity
• plate tectonics

Question 7

What are the human causes of climate change?

Answer 7

• direct addition of heat to the atmosphere
• alteration of gases
• alteration of the composition of gases in the atmosphere

Question 8

What are the impacts of declining ice cover?

Answer 8

• sea level rise (20 cm during the twentieth century)
• people movement : living conditions for Alaskans, ect
• agricultural output : major impact on food supplies and food security for many communities

Question 9

Name and describe a global response to glacier and ice sheet melting. Why or why want this response effective?

Answer 9

The Kyoto Protocol was created by the United Nations enabling open discussions leading to action and policies about carbon emissions on a global scale.
The Kyoto Protocol was created in 1997 resulting in 184 countries signing to help fight global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.