GLACIER SIMULATION PROJECT

INTRODUCTION
A large, moving mass of ice is called a glacier.Glaciers form near Earths poles
and in mountainous areas at high elevations. They cover about 10% of the Earths
surface. Cold temperatures keep fallen snow from completely melting. Each year the
snow that has not melted accumulates in an area called a snowfield. This accumulated
snow develops into a glacier.Due to sheer mass, glaciers flow like very slow rivers. The
goal of this activity is to see what happens to the length and thickness of a glacier when
the sea level air temperature and average snowfall are changed. The guiding question
for this activity is: How do climate conditions affect the size of a glacier.
METHOD
We started this experiment by using a glacier simulation in phet. Our control
conditions were average snowfall: 1.2ft and sea level air temperature at 58.5F. First,
we kept the average snowfall at 1.2ft and changed the sea level air temperature 3 times
with an interval of 3.1F. We measured the thickness and the length of the glacier. For
the length of the glacier, we took an average of 3 points on the glacier to make it more
accurate. For the thickness of the glacier, we took the measurement in the middle of the
glacier. Then, we kept the sea level air temperature at 58.5 F and changed the snowfall
3 times with an interval of 1.2ft. We recorded our data by making a table. As we looked
at the table, we noticed a pattern. When the temperature is above 61 F, there is a small
glacier or no glacier formed.
ARGUMENT

The increase and decrease in sea level air temperature and the average snowfall
changes the thickness and the length of the glacier.
Average
snowfall(ft)

Sea level air Thickness(ft)

temperature(F)

Length(ft)

1.2

58.5

854.9

87,303

change in sea 1.2

level
air
temperature

61.6

569.9

40,879

1.2

64.7

no glacier

no glacier

1.2

67.8

no glacier

no glacier

in 2.4

58.5

1156.6

149,836

3.6

58.5

1260.7

181,726

4.8

58.5

1311.3

263,018

Control
conditions

change
average
snowfall

As shown in the table above, with the average snowfall at 1.2ft, as the sea level
air temperature increases from 58.5F to 67.8F, the glacier reduces in thickness and
length and eventually, there is no glacier formed. With the sea level air temperature at
58.5F, as the average snowfall increases the thickness and length of the glaciers
increase.
As shown in the evidence, the glacier forms when the sea level air temperature is
around 58.5. The higher the temperature, is the smaller the glacier gets. Glaciers form
when cold temperatures keep snow fallen snow from completely melting, and the snow
that has not melted accumulates into a snowfield. This accumulation of snow develops
into a glacier. When the weight of the top layers of snow eventually exert enough
downward pressure, the snow is forced to recrystallize into ice. If the global warming

trend continues, then the glaciers would not be cold enough to keep a lot of fallen snow
from melting, therefore, glaciers would not form as quickly. In addition, the warmer
temperatures would also cause glaciers to melt.