Land Ice

Part A: Mass Balance

The term "land ice" can be used to describe any ice that formed over land primarily from freezing precipitation (as opposed to sea ice, which forms by the freezing of seawater). This includes glaciers, ice sheets, ice shelves, icebergs, and frozen ground. Read this excerpt about land ice (Acrobat (PDF) 305kB Jul2 11) from the NSIDC page "All About the Cryosphere" to familiarize yourself with the different types of land ice or click here to read the full article. In this part of the lab, we'll be focusing on glaciers.

Glaciers can form anywhere that snow and ice remain year-round. They grow slowly over thousands of years, as snow is compacted into ice by the weight of subsequent snowfalls. The key to a glacier's survival depends on the relative amounts of accumulationaccumulation: processes by which snow and ice are added to a glacier. and ablationablation: processes (melting, evaporation, sublimation) by which snow and ice are removed from the surface of a glacier. the glacier experiences. If accumulation is greater than ablation, the glacier has a positive mass balancemass balance: the difference between accumulation and ablation. and the glacier grows in size. If ablation outpaces accumulation, mass balance is negative and a glacier shrinks. If the two processes result in no net gain or loss of snow and ice, the mass balance is zero and the glacier is in equilibriumequilibrium: a balanced state with no net gain or loss..

Scientists are interested in studying these thermodynamic processes in glaciers because of the potential impacts for both humans and wildlife. More than a billion people around the world (primarily in China, India, Pakistan, and Bolivia) rely on glacial melt water for drinking and agriculture (Qiu, 2010), but if glaciers melt too fast, there can be catastrophic flooding followed by a fresh water shortage. Melting ice sheets could result in loss of habitat for many species of birds and mammals, rising sea level, and increased global warming.

In this part of the investigation and using an interactive produced by the National Park Service, you will learn more about glaciers. By studying these processes, scientists are able to determine whether a glacier is growing or shrinking and whether changes in the glacier's mass balance are related to climate change.

1. Read the Introduction to Glaciers text on the opening page of the About Glaciers interactive.
2. Click on What Glaciers Are in the left menu. Then read the front page and click the photo boxes on the bottom right of the interactive window for more information. Clicking these boxes will cause a popup window to appear with the information. When you have finished reading all the information in the boxes, close the popup window.
3. Continue to click through all six of the menu options in the left menu. Be sure to read all the photo boxes on each new page's bottom right to get additional information about that topic. Take notes as needed.