Virtual Field Labs – Sea level rise and Thwaites Glacier: Vital signs of the doomsday glacier with Dr. Karen Alley and Dr. Richard Alley

Dr. Richard and Dr. Karen Alley take us to Antarctica to analyze the stability of Thwaites Glacier, a glacier that is getting much media attention. Vital signs are taken using satellite imagery to see how much sea levels may rise in the future. The question to be investigated is: Does Thwaites deserve its nickname the “Doomsday Glacier."

Sea level rise and Thwaites Glacier: Vital signs of the doomsday glacier with Dr. Karen Alley and Dr. Richard Alley

Curriculum ConnectionsGlaciology: Fundamentals of ice sheets and ice shelves, Oceanography: Sea level rise-current and future causes, Remote Sensing: Satellite imagery and analysis, and Climate Change: Warming oceans, abrupt climate disruptions, IPCC projections.
Student EngagementAnalyzing/interpreting satellite imagery, making data tables, constructing graphs, and drawing trendlines
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)1) Science and Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems; Planning and Carrying Out Investigations; Analyzing and Interpreting Data; Engaging in Argument From Evidence. 2) Disciplinary Core Ideas: Ecosystems- Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience; Earth Systems; Earth and Human Activity. 3) Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and Effect; Systems and System Models; Energy and Matter- Flows, Cycles and Conservation.
CategoryVirtual Field Labs
File TypeYouTube

EPISODE #1

Measuring the changing speed of the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf.

 

EPISODE #2

Measuring the changing size of the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf.

 

EPISODE #3

Analyzing the stability of the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf by counting crevasses near the off-shore pinning point.  This episode also looks at options for our energy future that may impact Thwaites.

 

Related Projects

Thermohaline Circulations Demo

Thermohaline Circulations Demo

Data from ice cores suggest that sometimes the Earth has undergone rapid changes in climate in as little as a […]
Frozen Balloons: Exploring Ice and The Process of Exploration

Frozen Balloons: Exploring Ice and The Process of Exploration

There’s plenty to learn from a frozen water balloon, starting with the patterns of bubbles—or lack thereof—in the ice.
Reconstruction of paleofire emissions over the past millennium from measurements of ice core acetylene

Reconstruction of paleofire emissions over the past millennium from measurements of ice core acetylene

Southern Ocean sea ice and circulation changes linked to Holocene sea salt concentration in the South Pole ice core

Southern Ocean sea ice and circulation changes linked to Holocene sea salt concentration in the South Pole ice core