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The Importance of Glaciers Around the World

National Snow and Ice Data Center
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Table of Contents
1. Abstract: Why We Are Talking About Glaciers 3

2. How glaciers came into existence 3

a. What glaciers do for us 4

b. Why glaciers are melting 5

3. Solutions to glacier melting 6

4. Conclusion 8
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Abstract: Why We Are Talking About Glaciers

Glaciers are made up of fallen snow that, over a long period of time, compress
and turn into large, thick layers of ice (NSIDC). Glaciers exist on every continent,
butcontinent but are mainly located near the poles. The thing about glaciers is that they
require very specific climatic conditions (NSIDC) and shifts in these conditions can
result in movement, and of course, melting. Glaciers are constantly responding to
changes in the climate that consist of increasing temperatures, evaporation and wind
scouring (NSIDC). It is important to note that glaciers provide drinking water, irrigate
crops and generate hydroelectric power, and if they continue to disappear, not only will
we lose these resources, we risk massive natural disaster. Limiting fossil fuel use and
finding alternate methods of producing energy is the main solution to this problem. My
goal is to establish the importance of glaciers and bring to light the efforts that are being
made to slow this process down.
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Figure 1. A glacier that is surrounded by melting smaller glacier pieces.

How Glaciers Came Into Existence

Glaciers come in a huge range of shapes and sizes, and different glaciers can have
a variety of different thermal, hydrological and dynamic characteristics (Knight).
Glaciers are currently occupying less of the planet than they did in the past, but they
continue to have a large impact on the planet. In the simplest terms to understand how
glaciers are formed, snow falls down on top of the previous layer and slowly begins to
compress, forming a glacier as it gets large enough. The largest glaciers are typically
present in locations that remain cold and snowy year round. The oldest glacier ice in
Antarctica is said to be approaching 1,000,000 years old (USGS).
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Figure 2. Image showing the same set of glaciers. Photo titled “Glaciers are
going”.

What Glaciers Do For Us

Glaciers are an important part of an entire global system which involves global
energy sources, the hydrological cycle, the atmospheric and oceanic circulation, climate,
crustal rheology and sea-level (knight). Glaciers are often viewed as an input system by
using the mass as output, and the mass balance of a glacier is mainly driven by climatic
controls, and it has a major influence on the glacier’s “well-being”. We often use the size
of glaciers to determine current climatic conditions or “world health”, but this is not
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always an accurate way to view things, as many things other than environmental or
climatic conditions can contribute to natural glacier mass downsizing.

Figure 3. The life cycle of a glacier.

Why Glaciers Are Melting

The most important thing to reiterate is that glaciers melt no matter what we do.
There is natural glacier melting that must happen to maintain several systems we need
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on our planet. Glacier fluctuations occur primarily in response to changes in mass

balance and the driving forces are usually climatic, but ice-dynamic and geographical
controls strongly influence the observed terminus response to environmental forcing
(Knight). It can be difficult for researchers to determine based on past history, the
specific reasoning for melting due to the natural glacier migrations, and more. The
World Wildlife Organization reported that since the 1900’s, many glaciers have been
melting at a rapid pace, and humans are to blame for this phenomenon. It has been
established that melting can happen naturally, but it is us humans that are significantly
driving them to this point. When the industrial revolution began, greenhouse emissions,
such as carbon dioxide, have caused temperatures to rise, and our actions since then
have only continued with this trend.

Solutions To Glacier Melting

It is slightly odd to say “solutions to glacier melting” as nothing we do will stop it,
as mentioned in previous paragraphs. Glacier melting is a natural phenomenon, but
what we do want to stop, or attempt to slow down, is the activities we as humans are
doing that contribute to even more glacier melting. Global warming is the main topic
here, but glacier melting is a close second. Glaciers have a role in preventing global
warming by deflecting sunlight from the Earth’s surface back into the atmosphere
(Sciencing), so we really do need them! We, as in the entire planet of Earth, have
become dependent on burning fossil fuels for energy, but this is rapidly increasing the
rate of climate change. As a community, a nation, a planet, we must turn to alternative
energy sources and decrease our carbon footprint (Sciencing).

Two specific ways that provide solutions to fossil fuel use are solar panels and
wind turbines. Solar panels are made of up cells called solar cells, and they work by
trapping heat from the sun and converting it into energy. Wind turbines work in a very
similar way by using the kinetic energy from the wind to generate power (Sciencing).
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Figure 4. Solar panels

Figure 5. Windmills in Texas

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At this point, I bet you are wondering what YOU can do as an individual to
prevent global warming. It is very common for people to believe that little things such
as, riding a bike, carpooling, or walking to places more often do not have an impact, but
they do. Imagine a world where one person does this, someone else does it because the
previous person did, and so on. Unfortunately, as an individual, these are things that
should be a normal part of everyday life, but we aren’t there yet. Every step you take
towards cleaner living will help reduce your carbon footprint.

Conclusion
In conclusion, we have discussed how glaciers came to be on this planet. Glaciers
developed from fallen snow that eventually compressed against each layer, forming
large sheets or blocks of ice. Glaciers are an important part of an entire global system
which involves global energy sources, the hydrological cycle, the atmospheric and
oceanic circulation, climate, crustal rheology and sea-level (knight). Glaciers also
contribute to slowing down global warming by deflecting the sun back to the
atmosphere. We also discussed how glaciers provide drinking water, irrigation for crops
and many other things to the population. Since the 1900’s, many glaciers have been
melting at a rapid pace, and humans are to blame for this phenomenon. When the
industrial revolution began, greenhouse emissions, such as carbon dioxide, have caused
temperatures to rise, and our actions since then have only continued with this trend.
We, humans, have continued to increase carbon emissions in the atmosphere at an
alarming rate, and we must enact solutions to prevent further unnecessary melting. This
typically goes without being said, especially when it comes to global warming and
climate change, but if we do not take action to prevent global warming, and glaciers
melt, sea levels WILL rise, the planet WILL heat up, land will be lost, populations WILL
lose vital resources and the future WILL be uncertain.
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Resources
Glacier by Peter Knight
https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting

https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/questions/people.html

https://ecobnb.com/blog/2018/11/melting-glaciers-causes-consequences/

http://www.petergknight.com/glaciers/glaciersconclusions.html#1.4

https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-old-glacier-ice?qt-
news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products

https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2017/05/05/the-glaciers-are-going/

https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/melting-glaciers-causes-effects-
solutions

https://sciencing.com/can-stop-glacier-melting-5377309.html