Fallon Raviol April 25, 2013
Core Earth Science C Block Ms. Davies
Citation: Marshall, Christa. "Greenland's Glaciers Loom Larger as Source of Sea Level Rise: Scientific American." Greenland's Glaciers Loom Larger as Source of Sea Level Rise: Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2013. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=greenlands-glaciers-loom-larger-as-source-of-sea-level-rise>.
The article, Greenland's Glaciers Loom Larger as Source of Sea Level Rise, talks about how fast Greenland’s glaciers and ice caps are melting. The glaciers and ice caps are contributing a significant amount of water to the oceans, and they also have made up twenty percent of Greenland’s mass loss. Last year, a Greenland glacier inventory was concluded and scientists have gathered information that Greenland’s land has elevated down fifty centimeters this past year, with the help of a NASA satellite showing precise measurements. With these facts, scientists have calculated that between 2003 and 2008, Greenland glaciers and ice caps have contributed about fifty gigatons of water annually to global sea levels. One gigaton is equal to one billion tons, so the glaciers have added 50 billion tons of water to oceans around the world. Scientists have been able to come up with these results by measuring how fast Greenland’s glaciers are melting compared to its ice sheet. Tobias Bolch, a glacier expert who works at the University of Zurich stated, “The glaciers are reacting faster to climate change than the ice sheet,” (Marshall, Christa. "Greenland's Glaciers Loom Larger as Source of Sea Level Rise: Scientific American." Greenland's Glaciers Loom Larger as Source of Sea Level Rise: Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.) Scientists are worried about Greenland's glaciers and ice cap because they are melting at a much quicker pace than Greenland itself. Scientist are unsure why this is happening, but there are many hypothesis about it. One hypothesis is that the glaciers are at usually lower elevations, where it would be warmer, and would be melting faster.
According to some research done about Greenland, the southeastern part is melting faster than the northern part. Scientists think this is surprising because the southern part is a lot snowier than the northern part. Anders Carlson a professor at Oregon State University, said that the reason the southeastern part of Greenland was melting faster was because many of the region’s glaciers end it the ocean, so many glaciers might split from its ice sheet and melt when it comes in contact with the oceanic water.
I found this article very interesting to me. This article got me thinking about what would happen in the future. If Greenland keeps melting at the rate it does, what will happen when it become fully underwater? Not only would this affect the Greenland, but this phenomenon would affect oceans and other islands and continents. By the time Greenland melts away, its glaciers and ice caps will be melted as well, making the levels of the sea much higher than they are today. In the future, with water levels so high, parts of continents might sink under water, or even whole continents. Humans will need another planet to live on in the future because the ocean levels might keep rising and in the end, every continent would sink under water. This could provoke the idea to humans that Earth will not be a habitable planet forever, and that in the years to come, the human population will need another planet to live on. I also thought this article was interesting because it said that over the course of five years, 50 billion tons of water was added to the ocean by Greenland’s glaciers and icecap melting. Also, with glaciers melting very fast globally, this could instigate a new study about how to keep these glaciers from melting so rapidly. this study could lead to new investigations as well as new technology.
This article taught me a lot about what is happening around Greenland today, but I wished this article talked more about what would happen to Greenland in the future. I think it would have been interesting to read about what scientists think might happen to Greenland, the oceans, and other continents. Also, I think it would have been fascinating to read about what scientists might plan in the future, or what they could do to prevent whatever dangers the melting glaciers bring towards humans and other organisms. Although the article did a fantastic job explaining about the melting of the glaciers in Greenland, and about Greenland itself, it could have done a better job about explaining what the measurements mean, and answering questions such as will Greenland ever be underwater?
Chrissy Simon
ReplyDeleteJune 3rd, 2013
C Even
Blog Comment
Comment:
I read Fallon Raviol’s current event report on the article entitled “Greenland's Glaciers Loom Larger as Source of Sea Level Rise.” I thought that Fallon’s current event report was well done. Her ideas flowed nicely and were interesting. I liked how she talked about what might happen to Greenland in the future because of the melting glaciers and what dangers the melting glaciers might cause for humans and other organisms. Also, Fallon did a good job of critiquing what the article could have improved on and applauding what it did well. Her summary was very detailed and left the reader with a good understanding of what is occurring in Greenland. Overall, I think that Fallon made the report interesting while still completing the tasks described in the rubric.
I think that Fallon’s current event report was well done and included many interesting facts. I was surprised that glaciers made up twenty percent of Greenland’s mass loss and that in the last year, scientists discovered that Greenland’s land has elevated down 50 centimeters. Also, it is interesting that the melting glaciers have added 50 billion tons of water to oceans around the world.
Overall, the blog contained many good facts and kept the reader captivated. However, the blog could also be improved upon. Fallon’s blog contained many grammatical errors and misspellings. She should have re-read her report more thoroughly before putting it on the blog. For example, in the end of the third paragraph she forgot to capitalize the word “this.” However, I still enjoyed the blog since I learned a lot from it regarding glaciers in Greenland.
I read Fallon’s article about Greenland’s glaciers melting at an alarming rate. After reading it, I think that Fallon did an awesome job. One thing she did well was thoroughly explain the situation in Greenland. She used clear language and supported her points with number facts about the rates at which the glaciers are melting. This easy-to-understand beginning allowed the reader to become immersed in the problem and showed how it is a problem that should not be ignored. Another aspect of the report that was well presented was the sub-paragraph about glaciers melting in the northern and southern parts of Greenland, and how they are melting at different rates. We had learned in our weathering and erosions unit that when snowfall increases, the glacier grows bigger. But Fallon presented facts how even though the south has more snowfall, it is melting at a faster rate. This contradiction to our previous knowledge was well-presented and an interesting thing to learn about. A third part of the report that I found to be well-presented was her criticism of the article. I agree that it would have been interesting to learn more about what scientists plan for the future in stopping this melting from happening. The facts presented in the article surprised me, because I never knew that the rates of glacial melt were so large. I found this interesting and concerning to learn about, and explanation of the measurements by Fallon emphasized the severity of the situation and the urgency of it. Another thing that I learned from reading the report was how much water is being added to the ocean. Fifty gigatons of water annually? I never even knew that this measurement existed, because it is such a large amount of water. This fact also surprised me, partly because of how large it is and partly because that is how much water is being added annually. Although I enjoyed reading the report and thought that it was a great read for the most part, there were a few things that could have been improved. I got confused by certain sentences towards the end of the first paragraph and throughout the second. So, rephrasing and proof reading multiple times would be a valuable thing to do before posting which would enhance this great report and make it even better.
ReplyDeleteOverall Fallon did a great job summarizing, analyzing, and critiquing her article. I thought that multiple aspects of this review were well done. She did a really good job explaining things in easy to understand terms. Even people who did not know anything about glaciers would be able to understand the article. She helped the reader understand the amount of water added to the ocean every year by converting it from gigatons to tons, a unit most people can relate to. Fallon also does a good job explaining the specific features of the glacier. Not only does she describe the abnormalities to scientists, she explains why they are strange. For example the ice melting faster in the southeastern end when there is more snowfall there. She continues her explanation with a possible reason for the irregularity. I was really impressed with this review and realized a lot from it. I have always known that the glaciers are melting but I never realized how fast some of them are going. This review helped me realize this. It also led me to think about what would happen. Fallon talked a lot about the future and this opened my eyes to the bad things that may be ahead. The idea of such a big change in the world really interests me. It makes me think back to the sudden change that killed the dinosaurs when a meteor hit. My suggestion to Fallon would be to edit her work. Although she has all the information, her writing could be improved. There are several spelling and grammar errors. However, in general Fallon did a good job.
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