Teaching Tips

• Should be used with other related videos and background materials on the Extreme Ice Survey website.
• This short clip can be shown in conjunction with any discussion on the impacts of global warming. There will be a need to describe how the motion of glaciers today are different from the motions in the past (use Google Scholar and search on "climate change" glaciers).
• Many more of this type of video can be found at: http://www.extremeicesurvey.org/index.php/new_gallery/

About the Content

• Dr. Tad Pfeffer of INSTAAR describes recent changes in the Columbia Glacier in Alaska.
• During most of the two-year span of the video, the ice is moving at a pretty good clip of about 50 to 80 feet (15 to 24 meters) a day.
• The cracks and fissures running sideways across the glacier are crevasses formed when the ice stretches and breaks in its effort to keep up with the accelerating downward pace.
• Transverse crevasses are an indicator of ice being stretched along the flow direction.
• The dark, curvy stripes that run along the sides of the glacier are medial moraines—channels of debris left behind where branch glaciers joined the main glacier in its flow.
• Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.

About the Pedagogy

• One of several complementary time-lapse videos of the Columbia glacier and other Arctic glaciers.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

• A short written explanation of the clip is given.

Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN