7.

Uticaj lednika na klimu Glacial ice can range in age from several hundred to several hundreds of thousands years, making it valuable for climate research. To see a longterm climate record, an ice core is drilled and extracted from the glacier. Ice cores have been taken from around the orld, including !eru, "anada, Greenland, #ntarctica, $uro%e, and #sia. These cores are continuous records %roviding scientists ith information regarding %ast climate. &cientists analy'e various com%onents of cores, %articularly tra%%ed air bubbles, hich reveal %ast atmos%heric com%osition, tem%erature variations, and ty%es of vegetation. Glaciers literally %reserve bits of atmos%here from thousands of years ago in these tiny air bubbles. This is ho scientists kno that there have been several Ice #ges. !ast eras can be reconstructed, sho ing ho and hy climate changed, and ho it might change in the future. &cientists are also finding that glaciers reveal clues about global arming. (o much does our atmos%here naturally arm u% bet een Ice #ges) (o does human activity affect climate) *ecause glaciers are so sensitive to tem%erature fluctuations accom%anying climate change, direct glacier observation may hel% ans er these +uestions. &ince the early t entieth century, ith fe exce%tions, glaciers around the orld have been retreating at un%recedented rates. &ome scientists attribute this massive glacial retreat to the Industrial ,evolution, hich began around -7./. In fact, some ice ca%s, glaciers and even an ice shelf have disa%%eared altogether in this century. 0any more are retreating so ra%idly that they may vanish ithin a matter of decades. &cientists are discovering that %roduction of electricity, along ith coal and %etroleum use in industry, affects our environment in ays e did not understand before. 1ithin the %ast 2// years or so, human activity has increased the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released into the atmos%here.