The Topic:  Glaciers Easier - Glaciers are rivers of ice that move very slowly. They can take a year to move as far as you can walk in a few minutes. When a piece of a glacier breaks off and floats in the water, it's called an iceberg.   Harder - Glaciers form high in mountain valleys (valley glaciers) and in polar regions (continental glaciers) where the snow falls but never melts. The heavy snow crushes the layers below and forms a mountain of ice. As the glacier moves slowly down the mountain, it grinds against the ground and the walls of the valley to make it deep and wide. Glaciers cover about six million square miles which is about three percent of the earth's surface.     All About Glaciers (National Snow and Ice Data Center)  http://www-nsidc.colorado.edu/glaciers/ What is a glacier? How is a glacier formed? Why do glaciers move? What are the components of a glacier? Where are glaciers located? What types of glaciers are there? How do glaciers affect the land, people? Are glaciers dangerous? How do glaciers reflect climate change?   Charlotte, The Vermont Whale: Glaciers and the Glacial Ages  http://www.uvm.edu/whale/GlaciersGlacialAges.html What are glaciers? How do they form? What are the physical effects of glaciers? Can these effects be seen here in Vermont? How frequently do Ice Ages occur? When did the last glacial age end? Will glaciers again advance over North America?   Glacier Homepage  http://www.glacier.rice.edu/ Find information about glaciers, the global climate, living in and studying Antarctica, animal life at the poles, and more!   Glacier Power by D. Sandberg (University of Alaska Fairbanks)  http://www.asf.alaska.edu:2222/ Meet your guides, the ice worms, who lead you through this online earth science unit on glaciers.   Using the websites, complete one or more of the following activities:   Select a role and use the links below to solve the problem or create a project.   Glacier Artist. You're an artist exploring the beauty of glaciers. Create a picture showing how a glacial area might change over millions of years. Create the picture as a series of panels like a cartoon.   Glacier Forecaster. You're a weather forecaster trying to predict the next ice age. Based on information about past ice ages, global climate, and other factors, create a chart showing the past, present, and future of glaciers.   Glacier Reporter. Write about what you think it might be like to live near a glacier. Read personal experiences on The Glacier Homepage. Locate a school near a glacier. Interview a student there via email to find out what it's like to live near a glacier. Use the Web66: International School Web Site Registry to locate a school on the Internet. Compare your original ideas with the interview results.   Glaciologist. There are many types of glaciers. Use the All About Glaciers (National Snow and Ice Data Center) to explore each type. Create a pretend island off the coast of Greenland. Give the island a name, and create a wall chart showing each type of glacier. Create 'flip card' labels that describe each glacier.   In the News. Read articles about Glacier News and Glaciers in the News. Take one of the news stories and create a short news video. http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/news/   Glacier Photographer. Copy one of the pictures from the Glacier Image Database into a word processor. Write a story about an adventure set on the glacier. Be sure to use the science of glaciers in your story.   Junior Glaciologist. After learning all about glaciers, find out more by submitting a question to a glaciologist at the Glaciers in the News site.   Complete a WebQuest. Adapt or follow the directions found at one of the following webQuest sites: 1) Glaciers (Grade 6) by K. Rankin http://www.west-bend.k12.wi.us/webquest/ms/glacier/Glaciers.htm 2) Webquest for Glacier National Park http://www.montana.edu/4teachers/instcomp/studentactivity/glacier/GlacierQuest1a.html 3) Glaciers and Glaciation by J. M. Bentley http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/bentley/glaciers.htm    Websites By Kids For Kids  Glacial Activity Online  http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5280/  This student project discusses the different types of glaciers. It also describes glaciers of the past and present.   Glacier National Park  http://library.thinkquest.org/J002205/ This web project focuses on Glacier National Park.   Glacier Page http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/3876/glaciers.html This page about glaciers is part of a larger project on snow. It contains simple drawing of a glacier.   Moraine Valley Project  http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/3729/ This ThinkQuest project focuses on the impact of glaciers on what is now the Chicago area.    A Few More Websites Alaska Science Forum (Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks)  Here are selected text articles about glaciers in Alaska. 1) Surging Glaciers by F. Pedersen http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF2/241.html 2) How Glaciers Move by T. N. Davis http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF4/415.html 3) Glacial Erosion by T. N. Davis http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF4/416.html 4) Columbia Glacier Retreating by L. Gedney http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF6/647.html 5) The Columbia Glacier by L. Mayo http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF6/667.html  6) Touring the Inside of a Glacier by L. Gedney http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF6/672.html 7) Don't Build On A Glacier's Right-Of-Way by L. Gedney http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF7/714.html 8) Black Rapids Glacier Galloped to Fame in 1937 by N. Rozel http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF13/1342.html   Benchmark Glaciers from the U.S. Geological Survey http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/ USGS operates a long-term 'benchmark' glacier program to monitor climate, glacier motion, glacier mass balance, glacier geometry, and stream runoff at a few sites in Alaska and Washington State. Here you can ask a question of a glaciologist/ Sections Within the Website: 2) Questions and Myths http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/FAQ.htm 3) Glaciers in the News http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/news/   Features of Alpine Glaciation by M. Mustoe  http://www.tinynet.com/glacier.html This website has information on glaciers and various types of glacial movement.   Glacier Image Database (University of Cincinnati)  http://tvl1.geo.uc.edu/ice/Image/imageref.html Here are images of glaciers from around the world.   Glacier Links  http://www.mysteries-megasite.com/main/bigsearch/glacier.html This links-page connects to hundreds of websites.   Glaciers-Rivers of Ice from the National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/olym/edglac.htm This site from Olympic National Park provides information about glaciers. Another Related NPS Website: 2) National Park Geology Tour: Glaciers http://www.aqd.nps.gov/grd/tour/glaciers.htm   Glaciers and Glaciation Links from the U.S. Geological Survey http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/Glaciers/framework.html This site links to good glacier websites.    Neill's Geology: Glaciologists  http://members.tripod.com/ciara_n/geology/glaciologists.html Climb around on glaciers and study things that have gotten trapped inside them.   Websites For Teachers Changing Earth (Grade 3-4)  http://explorer.scrtec.org/explorer/explorer-db/rsrc/783750608-447DED81.1.htm Here is a lesson to help learners understand that the Earth's surface is continually changing and consider the effect of glaciers.   Lesson Plans by Dr. Chip at Glacier Power  http://www.asf.alaska.edu:2222/guide_begin.html This is a teachers guide for an earth science curriculum unit on glaciers.      glacial lake ice flow water glacier lily Glaciation glacial epoch firn mountain valleys valley glacier melt water esker moraine ice iceberg continental glacier snow ablation drumlin 'calving' crevasse ice field ice cave ice worm sediment striation Antarctica ice shelf internal deformation accumulation bed deformation erosion deposit Ice Age recrystallize scour grind evaporation col glacial horn löess cirques aréte       Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, Updated by Nancy Smith, 8/01.