GLACIERS By: SANDRA MENDEZ

What is a glacier? A glacier is a slowly moving mass

river of ice. That is constantly moving under its own weight. There are two types of glaciers.

Mountain Glaciers : that are located on western Canada .southern Alaska, Artic islands ( Iceland)

Continental ice sheets: non mountain areas of the continent, these are blankets of ice.

• One in the Artic and one in Greenland.

Ice Sheet Greenland

Alaska Mountains

Glaciers form when snow remains in the same area year round, where enough snow is changed to ice by compression.

Movement of glaciers are caused by melted water that sinks to the bottom of the glaciers that becomes a slippery layer that can make the glacier slide.

• Glaciers can be found in mountain ranges on every continent except Australia.

• Himalayas • Andes• Rocky Mountains• East Africa• Mexico• New Guinea• Zar Kah (Iran)• Greenland• Patagonia

IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH MELTING GLACIERS?

• Rising sea levels

• Bigger more powerful storms

• Devastating to coastal habitat

• Danger to wild life

SEA LEVEL RISING

The rise of sea levels are linked to three primary factors1. Thermal expansion : when water heats up , it expands2. Melting of glaciers: high temperatures 3. Ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica.

Venice Italy Flood 2008

DANGER TO COASTAL HABITAT

• With sea level rising ,floods can be disastrous and that means floods will storm through the towns and strip everything in its path. This means millions of people homeless and out of jobs .Buildings that get flooded send toxins back into lakes and ocean.

• Glaciers melting can also lead to huge floods as natural dams formed by ice burst, sending lethal torrents down mountains and destroying forests.

Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Pier

DANGER TO WILDLIFE • If the glaciers all melt then

Arctic Habitants like the polar bears, penguins, and seals will not have a environment to live on.

• Certain animals need the glacier temperatures for survival some bird species live on the fish that can be found in the fresh waters of glaciers.

• But with the sea temperatures rising the plants in the sea that the fish live on will be lost . Reducing the amount of fish.

WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS ?

• Its simple really each person of the world do there part in recycling

• Controlling the soot created by burning fossil fuel may help to reduce the ice loss and global warming faster then any other controlled option available

• Just care about the world you live in