Glaciers: Formed by ice, by snow accumulated over hundreds of years that moves slowly down hill by the force of gravity.

Polar Ice Sheet: A frozen field of ice covering either the North Pole or the South Pole

Global Warming : An increase in earth`s average atmosphere temperature

Snow falls below 0°c and it melts if temperature is above 0°c

The amount of snow that falls depends on how far away you are from the North – South pole

Snow that doesn’t melt in Spring accumulates over time. The un melted snow of the top layer is compressed with the older snow underneath, and turns it into ice. This ice will eventually form glaciers, icecaps and polar ice sheets.

Snow is fresh

Having a grainy or granulated

surface of snowthe snow line on a glacier

The very bottom layer which is now very firm

Our Views

Glaciers, ice caps and polar ice

sheets are very helpful to identify

changes in climate.

If glaciers increase in size or

polar ice sheets become larger,

it could be a sign that

temperatures are dropping

around the world.If glaciers and polar ice sheets

start to shrink, it could be a sign

that temperatures around the

globe are increasing.

This all comes down to the

numerous animals that are going

extinct because of these causes. If

you didn’t realize, we’re responsible

for these dilemmas...

Fill In the Blanks Activity

Glaciers and ____________ do not stay the same size year after year, or even within a year. These enormous stretches of ice respond to fluctuating ____________ of the seasons, to ____________, and to global ____________ change. Sometimes, when all factors equal out, they may stay ____________ for a time. But usually they are dynamic, ____________ and retreating at distances often only noticeable over years.

- Use the words at the right to help you fill in the blanks in the following paragraph.

Word Bank:

• stationary• advancing• precipitation• climate• temperatures• ice caps

Global warming causes polar ice melts. This melted ice (Water) flows into the oceans raising sea levels.

ice caps

temperaturesprecipitation

climate

stationaryadvancing

Question Time

1. How is global warming create a massive part in our lives? How might it affect us and marine life animals in the future?

2. What happens when snow accumulates? (Explain the entire process).

Notes• Snow falls below 0°c and it melts if temperature is above 0°c

• The amount of snow that falls depends on how far away you are from the North – South pole

• Snow that doesn’t melt in the Spring accumulates (packs together) over time; Un melted snow of the top layer compresses with older snow underneath, and it turns into ice. This ice will eventually form glaciers, ice caps and polar ice sheets.

• Less ice melts in the summer when the climate is cold for centuries (during ice age). During this time, glaciers build up and land covered in ice will increase.

• The ice cover starts to shrink if there’s less precipitation than usual for several years. This affects the glaciers, forcing them higher up the mountainsides, and polar ice sheets cover smaller areas.

• Global warming causes polar ice melts. This melted ice (Water) flows into the oceans raising sea levels.