Jacob Slimak

1/22/15 6th

Glacier Length vs. Temperature and Snowfall

Introduction and Guiding Question:
A glacier is a large, moving sheet of ice. They covers almost a tenth
of the Earths surface. Glaciers from when cold temperatures keep snow
from melting. The pressure from the weight of the snow over years causes
the snow to recrystallize. Guiding Question: How do climate conditions affect
the size of a glacier? Our goal was to relate global warming (the rising
temperatures on Earths surface) to the size of a glacier.
Method:
For the experiment, we decided to test the effects of changing snowfall
in one set of trials and changing temperatures in another using an online
simulation. We used the snowfall amounts of 1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, and 4 feet.
In the temperature trials, we chose to test 56, 60, 64, and 68 degrees. We
ran each trial 200 years. After running the experiments we graphed the data
on two separate line graphs.
The Argument:
Upon completing the experiment, we came up with the claim; the
lower the temperature and the greater the amount of snowfall, the larger the
length of the glacier. This was proven in the snowfall trials when we tested
1ft, which had a length of only 24,000 feet, compared to 4 feet that had
137,500 feet. During the temperature trials, the lower temperatures, such as
56 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, had longer glacier lengths than 64 and 68
degrees. Cold temperatures are what keep snow from completely melting
and forming into glaciers and with global warming, Earths temperatures are
rising causing more snow to melt and a decrease in the length of glaciers.
Temp
(Degrees
Fahrenheit)

56

60

64

68

Length of
Glacier

141,000 ft.

126,000 ft.

93,000 ft.

0 ft.

Feet of Snow

Length of
Glacier

24,000 ft.

103,500 ft.

126,000 ft.

137,500 ft.