Air Temperature, Melting Ice and Disappearing Land Climate scientists study changes in icebergs and glaciers. Glaciers are massive sheets of ice that cover the land in places like Greenland in the Arctic and the Antarctic. Icebergs are large chunks of glaciers that break off of a glacier when it reaches the ocean and fall into the ocean. Glaciers in the Arctic and the Antarctic are changing. They are melting more in the summer and moving faster. One thing that climate scientists worry about is that melting glaciers will cause land in coastal areas to disappear as sea level rises. The Sun provides the energy that heats the Earth s atmosphere, the air. The warmer the air, the faster glaciers melt and move. The faster glaciers melt and move, the quicker sea level rises and land disappears. In this investigation you explore how the temperature of the atmosphere, the air, affects icebergs and glaciers. You also explore how melting icebergs and glaciers contribute to changes in sea level. This investigation takes 2 hours to complete with one tank. What you need: You need to build a neighborhood in a fish tank. You will use the tank twice, one time with icebergs and one time with glaciers. Using a tank with a cover keeps the air and the water in the tank from escaping. For a basic tank: Small fish tank with a cover. Plastic covers are a fire hazard and not recommended. Plastic wrap is not recommended for the same reason. Use heavy aluminum foil wrapped around the lamp (see Tank 2 diagram on page 2), but be careful, the foil and the lamp will get hot. Lamp with a 60w bulb. A clamp lamp or a desk lamp will work. Thermometer Ruler Water at room temperature. You can add a drop of blue food coloring to the water if you want. 2 Icebergs and 2 glaciers, all the same size (freeze water in small paper cups and remove the paper) Clock Student worksheet (see page 4) Water resistant modeling clay (florist clay) Plastic houses, people, cars, etc. Be sure to have an ocean beach on one end of your tank. 1
Tank Set-Up: What you do: Build your neighborhood tank. Tape the thermometer to the inside of the tank with the numbers facing out. Tape the ruler to the inside of the tank in the ocean end with the end of the ruler resting 1 inch from the bottom of the tank with the numbers facing out. Complete Part I & II of the investigation. Part I: Temperature, Icebergs and Sea Level Add enough water to the tank to bring the water level to 1 inch (to the bottom of the ruler) in the ocean end of the tank. Record 0 inches as the ocean depth in the Tank 1: Iceberg table of your worksheet. Add the 2 icebergs to the ocean in the tank. Records the ocean depth in the Tank 1: Iceberg table of your worksheet. Cover and seal your tank. Record the temperature of the air in the tank in the Tank 1: Iceberg table of your worksheet Make a drawing of what the tank looks like on your worksheet. Turn on the lamp. Wait 5 minutes and record the air temperature and water level in the Tank 1: Iceberg table of your worksheet. After 10, 30 and 60 more minutes record the air temperature and water level in the Tank 1: Iceberg table of you worksheet. After 60 minutes make a drawing of what the tank looks like on your worksheet. 2
Part II: Temperature, Glaciers and Sea Level Remove enough water from the tank to bring the water level to 1 inch (to the bottom of the ruler) in the ocean end of the tank. Record the water level in the Tank 2: Glacier table of your worksheet. Add the 2 glaciers to the land in the tank (see diagram). Record the water level in the Tank 2: Glacier table of your worksheet. Cover and seal your tank. Record the temperature of the air in the tank in the Tank 2: Glacier table of your worksheet Make a drawing of what the tank looks like on your worksheet. Turn on the lamp. Wait 5 minutes and record the air temperature and water level in the Tank 2: Glacier table of your worksheet. After 10, 30 and 60 more minutes record the temperature and water level in Tank 2: Glacier table of your worksheet. After 60 minutes make a drawing of what the tank looks like on your worksheet. Use your observations from Part I and Part II to answer the questions on your worksheet 3
Air Temperature, Melting Ice and Disappearing Land Worksheet Name Part I: Iceberg Tank 1 TIME minutes TEMPERATURE ºF WATER LEVEL inches 0 after icebergs added 5 minutes 10 minutes 30 minutes 60 minutes Draw a picture of the tank after you added your icebergs. 4
Draw a picture of the tank after 60 minutes with the lamp on. Part II: Glacier Tank 2 TIME minutes TEMPERATURE ºF WATER LEVEL inches 0 after glaciers added 5 minutes 10 minutes 30 minutes 60 minutes 5
Draw a picture of the tank after you added your glaciers. Draw a picture of the tank after 60 minutes with the lamp on. 6
Air Temperature, Melting Ice and Disappearing Land Questions 1. Which tank reached the highest temperature, Tank 1 or Tank 2? 2. Which tank heated up the fastest, Tank 1 or Tank 2? 3. Which tank had the largest change in water level, Tank 1 or Tank 2 or was the change about the same in both tanks? 4. In which tank did the water level change the fastest, Tank 1 or Tank 2? 5. Describe the differences you observed between Tank 1 and Tank 2 in the way the temperature changed. 6. Explain what you think caused those differences. 7. Describe the differences you observed between Tank 1 and Tank 2 in the way the water level changed. 8. Explain what you think caused those differences. 7
9. Describe how the land changed in Tank 1. 10. Describe how the land changed in Tank 2. 11. Describe the differences between Tank 1 and Tank 2 in the way the land changed. 12. Explain what you think caused those differences. 13. Why do you think rising air temperatures, melting glaciers and icebergs and rising sea levels are a problem for living things near the ocean and in other places on Earth? 8