Glaciers are made of fallen snow that has compressed and thickened into large ice masses over hundreds of years. Some will move slowly in the water however, some can flow quickly, some traveling ten times faster than the normal rate of half a kilometre per year. They will grow and shrink in response to climate change but usually these changes happen over a long period of time (usually hundreds of years). By their movement, glaciers mark the change in climate. By scientists monitoring glaciers over time and around the world, valuable records of glacial activity and their response to climate variations are constructed.
In order to write this investigation, there was extensive research on websites, newspaper articles and documentaries. The documentaries helped to give visuals to the information that the narrator was providing. A survey was also created to test the knowledge and opinions of teachers, students and family. From the survey conducted 94% of people agreed that human activities are contributing to global warming as well as a majority of people commenting on the reduction of unnecessary damage to the environment as improving the efficiency of recycling. Although a majority of people said they had either a lot or a moderate amount of knowledge on climate change there were only very short responses when asked about their knowledge on the melting glaciers which connects the results of the final question of the survey. Whether climate change should be taught in schools to which 100% of participants answered yes.
The glaciers found at the poles of the world are melting, this not only contributes to the sea level rises but is also an example of how the world needs to change the way things are run in order to slow down the change in climate. Earth goes through many stages throughout time Ice Ages however 'Things that normally happen in geologic time are happening during the span of a human lifetime,' says Daniel Fagre while being interviewed by Daniel Glick. The speed of the glacial melting has contributed to a third of the 27 millimetres of sea-level rise. The main cause of the increase in speed are human activities specifically, since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have risen temperatures greatly effecting the poles.
An ice age occurs when cool temperatures are present for long periods of time, allowing polar ice to spread. At one point during the Ice Age, sheets of ice-covered large parts of Europe, North America, and South America, and small areas in Asia. The remains of glaciers from the Ice Age can still be seen in Greenland and Antarctica. Scientist have known that there were to be eight ice age cycles, that are separated by warmer periods called interglacial periods. The earth is currently nearing the end of an interglacial which means another Ice Age is set to happen in the next hundred years. Glaciers provide key information about global climate change that can help estimate the future.
Currently there are no strategies put in place to protect the glaciers however, scientists have now thought of two ways to protect these large ice masses. One includes building underwater walls built by robots, the other proposes pumping cold water through vast tunnels under the ice to thicken it and prevent it from sliding into the ocean. “These geoengineering projects could delay much of the polar glaciers from melting into the sea for centuries,” says Michael Wolovick, a glaciologist at Princeton University and one of the scientists behind the new proposals. However, with these ideas that could potentially prevent the loss of the worlds remaining glaciers there is a large price tag and a wide international cooperation would need to fund and manage these projects.
In order to change the level of human damage done to the planet that is affecting the glaciers more awareness needs to be raised about climate change itself. Through awareness being made there can then be a change in people’s attitude towards lowering their waste and their usage of unnecessary items. Through raising awareness and improving education all over the world there are higher chances of new ideas and inventions to make taking care of our world easier for the big corporations that cause majority of the damage. The Australian government has the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) that is now Australia’s main way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, two thirds of the ERF’s allocated $2.5 billion has been spent. Australia’s problem is 53% of the total emissions comes from energy (electricity or direct combustion) one option to lower this amount would be to build power plants to produce electricity. Unlike fossil fuel-fired powerplants, nuclear reactors don’t produce air pollution or carbon dioxide while operating. However, fuelling these plants can require large amounts of energy.
In order to slow down the progression of climate change which results in the glaciers melting, I feel that the first step is improving how we live and function in everyday life and to do our best to lower our carbon footprint. Funding needs to be put towards conservation at both poles of the world in order to protect the animals and environment. Climate change has a big and detrimental effect on not only us but the animals and wildlife as well. In order to successfully prevent or slow down our changing climate large corporations that give funding to our governments need to be kept in check as they are the ones that do the most damage.
These large ice masses provide important information to scientists about our history and predicting our future. But there are many contributing factors as to how and why the glaciers are melting at the rate they are. The problem is that they are melting quicker than ever before and people need to change their mindsets in order to slow down our changing climate before it is too late.