Ice Sheets And The Ice Sheet Dynamics

The global mean surface temperature is projected to increase by around 0.3 to 4.8 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial values by the end of the 21th century. Therefore, if we continue to not check the anthropogenic emissions, the increase may be around 8 to 10 degrees Celsius, which is incredibly damaging to various ecosystems internationally. It is difficult to determine the possible aftereffects of the ice sheets melting because the equilibrium-response timescales of them is longer than both the atmosphere and ocean. The ice-sheet/ice-shelf model shows that if the atmospheric warming increases 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above the present temperatures, the Antarctic ice shelves will collapse and trigger a centennial scale response –a never-ending

Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and most inhospitable continent on Earth. Yet it is yields some 90 percent of the Earth most precious natural resource: water. But behind this pristine exterior, Antarctica is fighting a losing battle. New data suggests that the continent as a whole is warming at an alarming rate. According to recent studies gathered from Nature Magazine, the western half of the continent is warming five times faster than any other place

Earth has experienced many episodes of dramatic climate changes with different periods in earth history. There have been periods during which the entire planet has been covered in ice and at another time it has been scorchingly hot and dry. In this regards, earth has experienced at least three major periods of long- term frigid climate and ice ages interspersed with periods of warm climate. The last glacial period which current glaciers are the result of it, occurring during the last years of Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years age (Clayton, 1997). Indeed, glaciers present sensitive indicators of climate change and global warming and by estimating and monitoring the dynamic evolution of these ice masses, several

These formations caused the water level in many lakes to drop, and flow into rivers. With the weight of the glacier removed from the land, isotonic equilibrium occurred. The region began to rise, at a rate of about thirty centimeters per century (Leelanau, 2004). Water levels in the upper basin began to rise, forming lakes that filled the Michigan, Huron and Superior basins. Today, this isotonic rebound is still occurring, but at a rate of 53 centimeters per century. The rebound occurs at different rates across the area that was covered by the glacier. The difference in rates emerges from the difference in weight of the glacier. Areas that are rising the fastest today are those that had a thicker or heavier glacial ice, or those areas that had ice covering those most recently. Because of the difference in rates, the lower basin rose more slowly that the northern outlets (Leelanau, 2004). As the water changed directions to flow through the St. Clair River, the shape of the Great Lakes reached a point close to what they are at today. The shorelines and water level has changed, but the basic flow of water has stayed the same for the past 2,000 or so

Over fifteen thousand years ago an ordinary mass of ice emerged from nature and commenced its destiny of becoming the world's most famous iceberg (www.titanicuniverse.com). This notorious mass of ice came to existence thousands of years ago as a lone fragment of snow which eventually accumulated for a multitude of ages. While the flurries continuously descended along the shores of Greenland, the snowflakes were simultaneously being condensed into one of the most critical abominations in recorded history (www.titanic-titanic.com). Once the timing of the intemperate environment had reached the year of 1909, the glacier was then fractured and allowed for the ice’s secession from its customary location and the advancement towards a tremendous

This problem could mark either the end of human civilizations or mark the beginning of the next era of human development. It would decide on our species survival, whether there will be another mass extinction like the one 65 million years ago. The question is “How might the breaking up and melting of continental ice in Greenland and the Antarctic affect Canada’s coastline?”. In the following sections, we have gathered an abundance of information from a variety of sources from which we will discuss, and analyze. We will find out how this data can help us understand the effect of melting glaciers on Canada’s coastline, as well as how and what we could do to stop or slow it down.

On February 7, 2012 Russian scientist discovered a “golden-like swastika” in an Arctic ancient lake that hasn’t been touched, in what they believe, 20 million years. As the old conspiracies of German activity in the South Pole returns, with a vengeance, citizens spark fear across the country of Russia. Little is known about the vast frozen tundra that resides in the far south, for Antarctica is a place of mystery and wonder.

In addition to the astounding features created by the glaciers, their movement and disappearance also created an interesting interaction between the lithosphere, asthenosphere, cryosphere, and hydrosphere. Isostasy is the interaction between the stiff lithosphere and the

For many years now, scientists have believed that our climate is changing. This climate change has caused water currents up north, near Antarctica to shift leading to warm waters taking the place of the usual cold arctic waters. Warm water melts the glaciers and causes the top of the glaciers to float off into the sea, allowing the warm water to melt even more glaciers. The extra glacier melting into our sea has caused the sea levels to raise and the

Slowly over time, the glaciers began to increase in size and suck up the ocean water and lower the sea levels. As the sea levels lowered, land between

~ Glaciers are formed when snow builds up for several years from snowfall that exceeds snow melt. Over time, as new snow compresses the existing snow, the weight causes the snow underneath to turn to ice. The hardening effect is similar to what happens when you pack a snowball in your hand. The pressure from additional layers of snow builds for up to thousands of years. Glaciers can grow and shrink as a result of changes in the amount of snowfall

Glaciers have helped define the topography of earth for many years. A glacier is a large mass of ice that has been compacted of snow and ice for a long period of time. The ice age we will be focusing on is the Pleistocene era, which was “a period that began about 2.5 million years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago” (513). This was the most recent ice age where it helped formed our present-day lands. During this time, ice covered about 19 million square miles which was about 1/3 of earth’s land surface (515). Many parts of all the continents were covered with ice and that had a great effect on our topography due to the glaciers it created.

Blood Falls is a subglacial discharge from Taylor Glacier in Antarctica. When the iron-rich brine from within the glacier comes in contact with oxygen in the atmosphere, the iron oxidizes, precipitating iron oxides, resulting in the deep red colouring. In a very recent study by the University of Alaska and Colorado College, it was determined that the brine remains liquid within the glacier due to latent heat of freezing coupled with elevated salt content. They also mapped the network of channels that move the brine to the discharge area using hydraulic-potential modeling and radio echo sounding (RES). The brine’s origins were traced to an ancient salty lake which had been trapped underneath the glacier. In addition, ancient bacteria have been

The glacier is very wide. It can break up the continent of Rodinia. That means the river went into the ocean. It changed the ocean. It made the CO2 levels go down. When the CO2 levels went down it made the ice coverage increase and

Glaciers are one of the most fundamental phenomenon on the planet, and much of their purpose and impact on earth has been well documented and published. Ice sheets, Ice Caps and Glaciers trap nearly 90% of the world's fresh water, and are replenished by snowfall each year. Their existence on this planet dates back 650,000,000 years and yet they are always moving, always shifting and always melting. Before, human existence and even during the brief era of humans, ice dominated all of the earth's landmass and have regulated, created and altered many of the landscapes around the world.