Glacier Investigation

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Introduction and Guiding Question

Our group was trying to find the answer to the guiding question, which asked how
certain climate conditions affect the size of a glacier. We were going to conduct an
investigation that would provide an answer to that question. We used an online glacier
simulation to design an experiment. The goal of our experiment was to see how different
climate conditions affect the size and length of a glacier. Glaciers form when there is
snowfall and lower temperatures. The snow accumulates in a snowfield and eventually,
with time and pressure, turns it into ice thus forming a glacier. Therefore, the
temperature must be cold enough to keep the snow there long enough. We wanted to
see how specific changes in temperature and snowfall would affect the length and
height of a glacier.

Method
We used a simulation to run our experiment. Simulations allow us to observe
how a glacier reacts to different temperatures and conditions when we personally
cannot. During our experiment, we collected data about three different factors. We
found data on the distance, elevation, and accumulation of a glacier every 100 years for
500 years. For the first run, the sea-level air temperature was set at 60 degrees
fahrenheit and the snowfall was at 4.9 ft. After running it, we recorded the findings in a
data table for every 100 years up to 500. We then changed the sea-level air
temperature to 65 degrees fahrenheit and did exactly what we did in the first test. When
we collected all the data, we set up our observations about the three factors in a chart

form to analyze the data by looking for a trend or pattern in the data set. We saw that as
the temperature increased, the length of the glacier, elevation, and accumulation
decreased.

The Argument
After completing our investigation, we figured out the answer to the guiding
question, and made it our claim. Our claim was that the colder the sea-level air
temperature is, the longer the glaciers length will be. We saw that as the temperature
increased, the length of the glacier, elevation, and accumulation decreased. As you can
see in the table below, at 60 degrees, the distance was 124,213 ft. after 500 years. At
65 degrees, it was only 76,706 ft.after 500 years. Therefore, our data suggests that at
colder temperatures a glacier's length will be greater than at higher temperatures.
Another fact that justifies this is how, in an article, it states that glaciers form when there
is more snowfall and lower temperatures. If the temperature is warm, the glacier wont
be able to form as easily. Global warming is what contributes to this. Global warming is
when the world temperature rises because of something called the greenhouse effect.
Due to global warming, glaciers and ice caps are melting or retreating. This is
dangerous since many animals will lose their habitats and the sea-level will rise. There
may be climatic changes due to global warming as well. Because of the higher
temperature that accompanies the higher amount of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere due to global warming, the decreased amount of snowfall will cause the
glacier to melt faster than it grows. This supports the evidence because similar to what

the article stated, the glacier in the simulation didnt grow in length as much at the
warmer temperature than at the colder temperature.

60 degrees
Years

100

200

300

400

500

Distance

19,619 ft.

62,959 ft.

78,445 ft.

98,983 ft.

124,213 ft.

Elevation

13,936 ft.

12,305 ft.

12,350 ft.

11,722 ft

10,602 ft.

Accumulation

3.7 ft/yr

3.7 ft/yr

3.6 ft/yr

3.5 ft/yr

3.3 ft/yr

65 degrees
Years

100

200

300

400

500

Distance

14,009 ft.

30,197 ft.

41,798 ft.

65,265 ft.

76,706 ft.

Elevation

13,408 ft.

12,169 ft.

11,788 ft.

10,194 ft.

10,289 ft.

Accumulation

3.7 ft/yr

3.6 ft/yr

3.4 ft/yr

3.2 ft/yr

2.9 ft/yr