Sunday, January 30, 2011

Glaciers

-Where they are located.
Most of the world's glaciers are found near the Poles, but glaciers exist on all of the world's continents, even Africa. Althrough Australia doesn't have any glaciers. 


-Climate issue, variables needed. The amount of precipitation is important to glacier survival. In areas such as Antarctica, where the low temperatures are ideal for glacier growth, very low annual precipitation causes the glaciers to grow very slowly.
Variables for a Glacier to move is that under the pressure of its own weight and the forces of gravity, a glacier will begin to move, or flow, outwards and downwards. Valley glaciers flow down valleys, and continental glaciers flow outward in all directions from a central point
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-Explain the impact on the environment.
Like great rivers of ice, they have sculpted mountains and carved out valleys. They continue to flow and shape the landscape in many places today.
Common all over the world, glaciated valleys are probably the most readily visible glacial landform. Similar to fjords, they are trough-shaped, often with steep vertical cliffs where entire mountainsides were removed by glacial action. One of the most striking examples of glaciated valleys can be seen in Yosemite National Park, where glaciers literally sheared away mountainsides, creating deep valleys with vertical walls. So therefore they change the shape of the world in dramtice ways.



-Explain the impact on people and economy.The impact is good other then the fact that the water from all these glaciers that are melting are over taking over dry land and avalanches happen. Today, glaciers often are tourist attractions in mountainous areas. But glaciers are also a natural resource, and people all over the world are trying to harness the power of these frozen streams. glaciers provide water to people living in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. In Switzerland's Rhone Valley, farmers have irrigated their crops for hundreds of years by channeling meltwater from glaciers to their fields.


-How and when are warnings issued.

scientists study glaciers by monitoring glaciers over time and around the world, researchers construct valuable records of glacial activity and their response to climate variation.

-Describe the how technology used to predict your climate topic works.By comparing contemporary observations with historical and environmental records, such as agricultural records, pre-historic temperature or climate profiles, glaciologists acquire and provide an enhanced understanding of global processes and change

1. http://nsidc.org/glaciers/
2. http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/forest_facts/resources/geology/icefields.htm
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier
4. http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/fischer/429_info/429trips/NIF/Glaciers.htm

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