Glaciation and cold environments

Introduction

Glaciers and Glaciation are an important part of our Earth system. The recession of glaciers, and the melting of the polar ice sheets, is one of the most graphic and visible manifestations of climate change.

As the Earth warms, glaciers are shrinking globally; this not only contributes to sea level rise, but may cause water shortages as glacier meltwater can contribute less to downstream river flow. Shrinking glaciers can also pose hazards as glacier lakes grow, risking glacier lake outburst floods. Other hazards include glacier detachments and increased rockfall.

The Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are melting rapidly, which will contribute to sea level rise in the coming decades. Closer to home, our landscape has been shaped and moulded by glaciers, and evidence of past glaciation of the UK is widely available.

If you’re teaching glaciers and glaciation, then visit the freely available, open-to-all website www.AntarcticGlaciers.org. This website is written by experts currently researching these issues.

The website includes information on glacier processes (mass balance, glacier flow, glacier hydrology), glacial landforms, case studies, and extensive information on the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Closely tied to the A-level syllabus, content is regularly reviewed and updated.

The website also includes innovative and original teaching resources, including ArcGIS Online Web Maps, and plenty of other resources.

We hope you find it useful in your studies!