GLACIER MELTING AND IT'S EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
A glacier can be described as a huge block of ice
that has formed from falling snow.Glaciers contain almost all of the fresh water present on earth.
Glaciers are formed in places where are the temparatures A glacier can be described as a huge block of ice
are extreamly cold. This could even include places that are at sea level, but are mostly places that are high up on mountains. In such cold places it shows most of the year. This snow will settle down and when it snows again the lower layer of the snow gets compressed
. Every time it snows, the below layer will compress more, finally turning into hard ice. This ice is what form the glacier. When temparature rises slightly, the outer edges of the formed glacier and fresh snow will melt. For a glacier to form and sustain itself it is of prime importance that the amount of snow that falls on it must be more than the amount of glacier that has melted. This is the only way in which the glacier will be able to maintain itself and keep increasing in size year after yearincreasing .
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19095069
This project will make you aware of:
reasons for the glacier melting.
dangers of glacier melting.
understand the impacts of glacier melting on environment.
It ha sbeen noticed that glaciers were melting more than normal over the past century. It was argued in the past that this was a normal process that takes place over time, but this is now wrong. Many glaciers have melted so fast over the past few decades that they have vanished from the face of the earth for ever. Many glaciers that remain are, today facing the same fate.They are reducing in size year after year because the falling snow is not able to replace the amount of melting ice.
UNESCO: global warming links
WHY ARE GLACIERS MELTING FASTER TODAY
Glaciers are melting faster today as compared to the past many centuries. Why this sudden change? Almost every one believe that the prime reason for this is sudden and rapid industrialization which inturn has caused global warming
- the prime culprit of fast melting glaciers. Global warming is the rise average global temparature that has happend over the past century. "the industrial revolution"
is the main cause of this rise in average temparature. The indicriminate burning of fossil fuel have resulted in extreame atmospheric pollution leading to this condition. Coal is still burnt in huge quantities for various reasons such as electricity production. Burning of oil is major reason in the past century. Deforestation has increased to procure wood and make more space available for farming, resulting in an increase of Co2 concentrations.All these pollutants helps in trapping more heat in the earth's atmosphere, increasing global temparature. It is due to this temparature that glaciers are melting more than they actually should.When a glacier melts fully, it exposes the earth below.Glaciers absorb approximately 20%
heat from the sun, reflecting back 80% when the earth gets exposed this percentage get reversed . This iin turn causes further increase in temparature. This is a vicious trap which has already began and it will be almost impossible for us to stop it totally. In the future the global temparature will in all likelyhood keep increasing ,melting glaciers even faster than they are today.
DANGERS OF FAST MELTING GLACIER
Faster than normal melting glaciers will cause the streams and rivers to overflow causing flood. This is a reality that many places have and are currently facing.Those living in close proximity to these rivers will need to relocate. Farmlands get destroyed in these flood waters. Higher up on mountains this excess water creates new ponds . As these ponds keep getting filled with more water they form lakes with the pressure on the boundaries increasing. There is always a threat of these lakes bursting, causing huge floods in villages situated below.
Once the glacier had totally melted, the srteams and rivers run dry.Farm land will turn dry. Those depending on the fresh water from the melting glacier will have to relocate.
Places that depend on the constant flow of this water for the production of electricity will have to look for the other sources to produce elecricity. This will cause further atmospheric pollution and cost much more than to produce.
Sea level that has already risen
due to glacier melting, warmer water water will rise even further melting which empty the water into the sea.At immediate risk will be to those living in low lying areas in close viscinity to sea shores.These areas will get flooded and sweet ground water will get pollute dwith sea water, making it unfit for human use. Many animals, birds and fish that depend on the fresh water from melting glacier empty directly into the increasing sea level. Fish feeding on the corals will inturn get affected. Animals and birds feeding on these fish will be affected.
There are many more dangers that could cop up due to the fast melting glaciers in the coming years if we do not do something to reduce the menace of global warming
immediately. Each one of us can play a part in helping to reduce harmful emission leading to a possible reduction in future global warming.
IMPACTS OF MELTING GLACIER
Glacierrs melting have a negative impact on all those who depend on it.Communities that live along rivers fed by melting glaciers face the constant threat of being dislodged from their dwelling place to possible flooding.
Many rivers are overflowing today, but very soon there will be no glacial melt to feed them, causing them to dry up and spread draught all over.
Lakes formed by melting glacier water will grow in size and always pose a threat of bursting. If this happens the impact could be very devastating for all those living in close viscinity. Entire villagers could be destroyed including farming lands, roads, rail bridges etc. Precious human life could be lost.
If the current trend of more glacial ice melting continues, there will soon come a time when these glaciers will not exist.Resulting the hydrpower station
to shut down. Other sources for producing electricity will need to put into place, causing pollution and helping the causing global warming. All farmland that depends on melting glacial water will dry up, leading to a shortage of food grains.
Pangnirtung, a village on Canada's Baffin Island, had rain and temperatures in the 40s last month,
when minus-20 degrees is normal.
The impact of fast melting glaciers will also be felt in the sea. Sea levels have already risen in the past century due to an increase water temparature caused by global warmingwhen minus-20 degrees is normal.
. The water will rise further when more fresh water is added to it. Entire communities living in low lying areas near the shore will be at threat from the increasing sea water level. Fresh underground water in these areas will get polluted with salty sea water making it unfit for drinking and irrigation. Rise in sea levels
may kill or stunt the growth of many coral reefs. Coral reefs depends on photosynthesis from the sun for survival. When water level increases, the amount of sunlight will reduce, making it difficult for coral reefs to survive. Many animals,birds and fish that depends on fresh melting water from glaciers for survival will either reduce in number or get extinc
t over a period of time. This will happen where glaciers melt directly into the sea. DDT
was the pesticide that is used widely and was banned worldwide many years ago. Most of this harmful chemical got air born and settled in the cooler climate and were embedded and trapped into layers of glaciers.With glaciers melting at the rate they are today; these chemicals are being introduced into the water melting from glaciers, contaminating stremes and rivers as they flow. This will have a negative effect on the health of all those who depend on this water for drinking and agriculture. Many glaciers world wide have already vanished. The melting glaciers only help to increase in the gobal temparature. Ice reflects most of the heat from the sun back into space, but when the land get exposed it absorbs most of the heat.
SUGGESTION
FINDINGS
From the text book and internet analysis I came to know that the rate of glacier melting is increasing year after year. The main reason for the glacier melting is global warming. There are dangers in glacier melting such as overflow of rivers, streams, flood, destroyal of farm land, rising of sea level etc.
CONCLUSION
The process of glacier melting is normal
; but the rate at which the glaciers are melting today is abnormal. Snow is not able replace the melting ice; causing many glacier to become non existent. The impact of this trend are negative to human, animals, plants, birds and fishes that depend on fresh water from these melting glacier.
More Blogs Associated With Climate Change
http://thestar.blogs.com/climate/
http://www.climateark.org/blog/
http://climatescience.blogspot.com/
http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com/
http://climate-shift.blogspot.com
http://www.climateark.org/blog/
http://climatescience.blogspot.com/
http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com/
http://climate-shift.blogspot.com
(post your comments)
No comments:
Post a Comment