Ice Mass & Sea Level Unit 4: Animation Questions

Becca Walker and Leigh Stearns

Part 1: Animation
Watch the movie titled, Glaciers are retreating: How can we measure the full ice loss? An
example from the Greenland Ice Sheet.
1. Start by just watching the movie — do not write anything down, just watch the movie.
2. Now, watch the movie a second time and answer the questions below.

(1) Where, relative to a particular glacier, are GPS units installed to determine changes in uplift?
Bedrock
(2) In which direction do ice sheets flow, and why?
They flow toward the ocean

(3) Briefly describe what a crevasse looks like. Would crevasses be more likely to form in a fast-
moving or slow-moving region of a glacier? Why?
Crevasses look like cracks on the ice sheet,, they would probably form in a fast moving
region because that would make it more sustainable to tearing off.

(4) Briefly explain how crevasses may lead to the development of icebergs.
Crevasses can break off large sections of the glaciers that float away and become icebergs.

(5) The animation schematically illustrates the principal of elastic adjustment as glacier mass is
added or removed from Earth’s surface.

(a) What happens to the bedrock’s vertical surface when glacial mass is added to the
ground?

The bedrocks vertical surface decreases

(b) What happens to the bedrock’s vertical surface when glacial mass is removed from
the ground?
The bedrocks vertical surface increases

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Unit 4: Animation questions

(6) The animation shows that in addition to changes in glacial ice, snow accumulation and
snowmelt in Greenland can also influence the raising and lowering of the bedrock elevation
surface. Based on what you observed in the animation:

(a) Describe how the vertical movement of a GPS receiver changes during winter.
The bedrock surface lowers as the meters of snow come in

(b) Describe how the vertical movement of a GPS receiver changes during summer.
The bedrock surface rises as the snow melts

(7) Which of the following statements about isostatic adjustment and snow accumulation is true?
(a) The amount of snow that accumulates during a particular period of time is about
the same as the amount of crustal deformation that occurs over the time period.
(b) The amount of snow that accumulates during a particular period of time is much
greater than the amount of crustal deformation that occurs over the time period.
(c) The amount of snow that accumulates during a particular period of time is much
less than the amount of crustal deformation that occurs over the time period.

(8) Referring to the graph at the upper right-hand corner of the animation screen, what is shown
on the X-axis? What is shown on the Y-axis?

The X axis is the year, the y axis is the vertical change in millimeters.

(9) According to the animation, what happened from 2004–2011 to:

(a) Helheim Glacier’s thickness?

it started to melt and got smaller
(b) Helheim Glacier’s speed?

It was going at a faster speed

(c) the elevation of the bedrock surface in proximity to Helheim Glacier?
75mm
(d) the amount of ice from Helheim Glacier being discharged into the ocean?
It doubled

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Unit 4: Animation questions

(10) Is the phenomenon illustrated in this animation unique to Helheim Glacier? Briefly explain
your answer.

No, it is not unique and in recent years we’ve been able to observe a trend happening with many
glaciers because of global warming.

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