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The Importance of Glaciers Around the World

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

How glaciers came into existence 3

What glaciers do for us 4

Why glaciers are melting 5

Solutions to glacier melting 6

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 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.

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).

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
always an accurate way to view things, as many things other than environmental or
climatic conditions can contribute to natural glacier mass downsizing.
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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 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
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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).

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