This week I completed an experiment called Melting Ice. This experiment encourages science inquiry and allows the student to form their own opinion as to what would really happen if the polar ice continues to melt.
I was required to answer question nine which asked "What happens if the polar ice caps melt?" I think there are a lot of factors that have to be reviewed in order to answer this question. I will get to them in a minute. In my first trial, the ice melted but the water did not spill over the glass. I repeated the experiment two more times. In my second trial, there was some seepage trickling down from the top of the glass. In my third trial, the water did not over flow the glass.
There are a variety of factors that must be considered. What was the water's temperature before and after? What percentage of the water seeped out?
Now to answer question number nine. I do not think the melting polar ice caps are such a serious threat. I believe films like "An Inconvenient Truth" were more hype than reality. I do believe they are melting but I disagree with the effects. Bottom line, low-lying areas will flood. They will flood because they are so low in proportion to the size of the glacier/ice cap.
What do you think?
Edie,
ReplyDeleteI disagree and do think that the melting ice caps are a threat, especially the ice caps that are on land. Small towns and communities rely on the melting fresh water every year for crops and drinking water. What will these communities do when it is gone?
Lynelle
I am somewhere in between these two views. I do think that if the polar ice caps melt, there will be some flooding, but not as much as some would think. Water seeps into the ground, glaciers make new lakes (that is where the Great Lakes came from, glaciers), and some water evaporates into the clouds. Low lying areas will be affected, but I also have faith in the human race that we will adapt.
ReplyDeleteI believe that they will cause some flooding, but I'm not sure to the extreme. People are always quick to talk about the negative impact of climate change, but I'm sure some positive things can come out of it too. There are usually negative and positive implications behind almost everything.
ReplyDelete@Lynelle - My statements were only from the perspective of ice caps melting on water. I do agree with you that if the polar ice caps on land were to melt, they could have a negative impact.
ReplyDelete@ Carrie - I read an interesting article this week which suggested that it is the amount of water vapor and ice crystals which contribute to cloud formation. The clouds determine the amount of sunlight reflected. It is this process that contribute to a natural global warming trend. The sad thing, is that even if we could stop global warming today (whether natural or man-made), global warming would still continue for another 100 years.
ReplyDelete@ Voneeta - I agree. I think this holds particularly true when people see a news program or documentary on the topic. So many people take it as gospel truth. When an Inconvenient Truth hit the big screen, everyone was jumping on the Al Gore bandwagon. Many people were turned off at a politician using global warming as a platform.
ReplyDelete@Edie- That is interesting. I think that global warming is a natural thing that happens though, and would happen with or without human intervention. We have found tropical plant fossils in Antarctica, so Earth has been a lot warmer than it is now. Humans may be acting as a catalyst to increase the rate as to which global warming is happening, but it would happen regardless.
ReplyDelete