GLACIERS

21st
Century
Skills Library
REAL WORLD MATH: GEOGRAPHY

b y b A R b AR A A. S OMER V I L L
Published in the United States of America by
Cherry Lake Publishing, Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.cherrylakepublishing.com

Content Adviser
Andrew Dombard, Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental
Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago
Math Adviser: Tonya Walker, MA, Boston University

Credits
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Copyright ©2010 by Cherry Lake Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or
by any means without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Somervill, Barbara A.
Glaciers / by Barbara A. Somervill.
p. cm.—(Real world math: geography)
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60279-495-5
ISBN-10: 1-60279-495-2
1. Glaciers—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series.
GB2403.S65 2010
551.31'2—dc22 2008047265

Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge

the work of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Please visit www.21stcenturyskills.org for more information.
 GLACIERS
RWM: GEOGRAPHY

Table of conTenTs

ChAptER OnE

WhaT Is a GlacIer? . . . . . . . . . 4

ChAptER twO

The anTarcTIc Ice sheeT . . . 10

ChAptER thREE

Do The MaTh: GlacIers on

The Move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

ChAptER fOuR

Do The MaTh: calvInG

IceberGs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

ChAptER fIVE

Global WarMInG . . . . . . . . . . 24

REAL wORLD MAth ChALLEnGE

AnSwERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

GLOSSARy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

fOR MORE InfORMAtIOn . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

InDEx. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

AbOut thE AuthOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

ChAptER OnE

WhaT Is a
GlacIer?

G lacial ice covers mountain peaks and fills

mountain valleys. It spreads over plains and reaches to the
sea. Glaciers can cover an area as small as a football field or as
large as a continent.

Receding glaciers in Alaska carved out Glacier Bay.

The bay first appeared in the 1700s. Today,
it’s about 65 miles long.
 A glacier is a mass of ice that begins as snow. A glacier
builds when more snow falls than melts over a long period
of time. This does not happen quickly. Glacier ice collects
over hundreds, even thousands, of years. The ice at the base
of some Canadian Arctic ice caps is more than 100,000 years
old. Every continent except Australia has glaciers. Glaciers in
Africa, however, are rare.
The longest glacier in North America is the Bering Glacier.
It measures 118 miles (190 kilometers) long. The largest glacier
mass is found in Antarctica. That continent’s ice sheet covers
about 5 million square miles (13 million sq km) of land. Antarc-
tic ice is thick and heavy. In the western region, ice has pushed
the land down to about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) below sea level.
Glacial ice can change the profile of land. Within the ice,
glaciers carry tons of soil, rock, and plant matter. Like nature’s
bulldozer, glaciers flatten mountains. They also carve out deep
valleys, such as Yosemite Valley in California. Glaciers carve
out land like giant ice cream scoops. The holes left behind
may become lakes. That is how the Great Lakes were formed.
There are many types of glaciers. Two types include conti-
nental glaciers and alpine glaciers. Continental glaciers are
broad regions of ice that cover a large area. They flow over
mountains, cliffs, and valleys. These very large ice sheets spread
out from a central area. They are somewhat dome-shaped.
They cover more than 19,300 square miles (49,987 sq km). They
are only found in Antarctica and Greenland.
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

Alpine glaciers are found in mountain regions. Valley

glaciers are a type of alpine glacier. They flow down into valley
regions. Glaciers in the Andes, Himalayas, and Rocky Moun-
tains are alpine or valley glaciers. Sometimes an alpine glacier
flows out of a valley and spreads across a flat plain. This forms
a new glacier, called a piedmont glacier. Alaska’s Malaspina
Glacier is a piedmont glacier.

21st Century Content

A severe shortage of water is a serious issue in

many parts of the world. Glaciers and ice caps
cover nearly 10 percent of Earth’s land. They also
contain about 70 percent of Earth’s freshwater.
An iceberg is a large chunk of floating ice that
has broken off from a glacier. Some people have
suggested collecting icebergs and towing them to
areas hit by drought. The icebergs, once melted,
could provide people in those areas with water.
Do you think this is a good emergency solution?
What challenges might prevent this idea from
succeeding?
Glaciers from the Andes, such as the
Perito Moreno, flow down through
Chile and Argentina.
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

Some valley glaciers reach as far as the sea. These

are called tidewater glaciers. They produce icebergs.
Several tidewater glaciers calve icebergs in Glacier Bay,
Alaska. Calving is the process in which large sections of ice
break off a glacier or ice shelf. These detached ice chunks—
now called icebergs—drop into the ocean. Every iceberg
produced during the process is different.

Calving can be a huge event. The glacier’s edge cracks

off and tumbles into the water. The sound of the
cracking can be heard for miles.
real WorlD MaTh challenGe
Read the chart. Then use a calculator to answer the
questions below.
Estimate of Global Water Distribution

Water
Percent of
Volume, Percent of
Water Source Total
in cubic Total Water
Freshwater
kilometers
Ice caps, glaciers,
and permanent 24,064,000 ? ?
snow
Total global
35,030,000 2.5% 100%
freshwater
Total global water
(salt water and 1,386,000,000 100%
freshwater)

What percentage of total global water is held in

ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow? What
percentage of total global freshwater is held in ice
caps, glaciers, and permanent snow?
(Turn to page 29 for the answers)
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

ChAptER twO

The anTarcTIc
Ice sheeT

w hat was the weather like 300,000 years ago?

How much snow fell during the last ice age? Scientists search
for the answers to these questions and many more in
Antarctica’s ice sheet. They drill deep into the ice to get

Scientists sometimes use helicopters to

travel when they work in Antarctica.
samples. They read the samples much like you might read
a time line in a history book. The glacier’s ice recorded
droughts, periods of global warming, ice ages, and
dust storms. Some samples hold bits of ash from massive
volcanic eruptions. They even have tiny pieces of pollen from
faraway lands.

LEARNING &
INNOVATION SKILLS
Scientists would not be able to answer many
questions about Antarctica without the help of
technology. For example, NASA satellites gather
information about the continent. This data helps
produce maps showing surface features that have
never been seen before. The maps also show
which direction the ice is flowing.
Scientists also use technology in creative
ways. Attaching special monitoring devices to
certain seals has helped experts make interesting
discoveries. The waters around Antarctica are
becoming less salty. This is probably caused by
melting ice. High-tech tools will continue to help
solve the mystery of how melting glacial ice affects
the planet.
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

Scientists hope that the ice time line will give us clues to
what may happen in the future. They see patterns of global
warming in Antarctic ice. They think that current trends in
global warming are being written in the ice today.
Scientists have found that Antarctic ice shelves are losing
ice more quickly than they would like. Ice shelves are floating
branches of the ice sheet. Ice shelves in the West Antarctic
Peninsula have been falling apart faster than glacial ice on the
rest of Antarctica. Between 1992 and 2006, the western region
lost approximately 100 billion tons of ice per year. The eastern
region lost almost no ice at all.

This image shows large cracks in Larsen B which was

one of three parts of the Larsen Ice Shelf. Larsen A
and B are both gone. Larsen C is still there.
 During the past 50 years, Antarctica has lost several ice
shelves completely. They include Prince Gustav Channel,
Larsen Inlet, Larsen B, Wordie, Muller, and the Jones Ice Shelf.
The Ross and Wilkins ice shelves have calved huge icebergs.
The high rate of ice loss suggests that global warming’s effect
on the region is increasing.
Why is this important? Water does not disappear from
Earth. It just changes form. Glacier ice melts and adds water to
the oceans. Worldwide, sea level is approximately 6 to 8 inches
(15 to 20 centimeters) higher than it was 100 years ago. This
increase results from warmer seawater and melting glaciers. If
too much ice melts, sea level will increase even more.

real WorlD MaTh challenGe

The world’s largest iceberg broke off the Ross Ice Shelf
in March 2000. The iceberg was named B-15. Its
overall area was 11,000 square kilometers. B-15 did
not go far. It got caught in the sea ice. In 2002 and
2003, B-15 broke into smaller pieces. One broken
piece named B-15A became the largest free-floating
object in the world. B-15A measured approximately
122 kilometers long and 27 kilometers wide. What was
the area of B-15A?
(Turn to page 29 for the answer)
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

ChAptER thREE

Do The MaTh:
GlacIers on
The Move

A n ntarctic glaciers are not the only glaciers that

are changing. Glaciers worldwide are on the move. Some are
advancing. Most, however, are retreating.

Scientists think the Monaco Glacier in

Spitsbergen, Svalbard, moved about
1.2 miles (2 kilometers) in 6 years.
 Some glaciers move in odd ways. A surge glacier can
rush forward at a rate that is up to 100 times faster than
normal. No one knows exactly why glaciers race forward. The
rush, however, only lasts a short time. Glaciers in Svalbard (an
island group that makes up the northernmost part of Norway),
the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and Antarctica are currently
surging forward.

Life & Career SK

SKiiLLS

International Polar Year (IPY) was a large

scientific program. It ran for two years, from
March 2007 to March 2009. Scientists did
research in harsh polar environments. They
studied the Arctic and Antarctic regions. They
looked into every aspect of polar life. They also
studied changes in sea ice.
The success of IPY depended on the collective
efforts of many experts. Thousands of people
from more than 60 countries were involved in
the research. Together, these scientists studied
how changes in the regions might affect the rest
of the world.
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

In Antarctica, three huge glaciers have sped up in the last

10 years. The glacier that causes the most worry is the Pine
Island Glacier. This glacier is around 1.2 miles (2 km) thick
and 18.6 miles (30 km) wide. Pine Island Glacier is moving
forward at a speedy 2.2 miles (3.5 km) per year. When the
glacier reaches the ocean, it calves icebergs.
Greenland’s Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier flows forward
8.7 miles (14 km) per year. Scientists carefully measure this ice

Crevasses can make walking on glacial ice very dangerous.

sheet. They know that it is losing ice at a frightening pace. Ice
loss has more than doubled in 10 years. It has increased from
a loss of 21.6 cubic miles (90 cubic km) per year to a loss of
53.7 cubic miles (224 cubic km) per year. That is a lot of ice.
When glaciers move, changes appear on the surface of the
ice. The ice cracks. Deep crevasses form. In some cases,
the shifting ice produces sharp, jagged pinnacles.
While some glaciers charge ahead, others retreat. Moun-
tain glaciers around the world are in a stage of retreat. They
are melting.
In the high Andes of Peru, Pastoruri Glacier has retreated
656 feet (200 meters) in 10 years. Overall, Peru has lost more
than 20 percent of its glaciers in the past 30 years. Some Peru-
vians depend on glacial meltwater to survive. If the glaciers
disappear, there will be no water for drinking or for crops.

real WorlD MaTh challenGe

In 1953, the Kutiah Glacier in Pakistan surged forward
12 kilometers in 107 days. In meters, what is the
average distance the glacier surged each day?
(Hint: Remember that there are 1,000 meters in
1 kilometer.) Round your answer to the nearest
whole number.
(Turn to page 29 for the answer)
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

Glaciers help scientists understand climate change.

Scientists look for climate trends over a long period of
time. By studying different types of glaciers, they can gather
different information. For example, temperature and precipi-
tation changes can be measured easily in small, contained
mountain glaciers.

real WorlD MaTh challenGe

The Muir tidewater glacier has been observed for
nearly 200 years. During the nine-year period from
1941 to 1950, the glacier receded approximately
3,000 meters. From 1976 to 1978, the glacier also
receded approximately 3,000 meters. During the past
200 years, Muir Glacier has receded at an average
rate of 450 meters per year. How many meters per
year did Muir Glacier retreat between 1941 and
1950? Did the ice recede faster during that period
or from 1976 to 1978? How many meters has the
glacier retreated in the past 200 years? Round your
answers to the nearest whole number.
(Turn to page 29 for the answers)
Mt. Kilimanjaro is quickly losing its
glaciers. Scientists are trying to learn
as much as they can before
the glaciers disappear.
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

ChAptER fOuR

Do The MaTh:
calvInG
IceberGs

S eeing a glacier calve an iceberg is amazing.

The process produces an ear-piercing sound. The result?
A massive ice cube that floats along with ocean currents.
Most icebergs calve off Greenland’s glaciers and
Antarctica’s ice sheets. Approximately 40,000 medium to

An iceberg floats off the coast of Greenland. Icebergs

in this part of the world usually last about 3 years.
large icebergs calve every year in Greenland. Antarctica
produces fewer icebergs, but they are much larger.

LEARNING &
INNOVATION SKILLS
In 1912, the Titanic ocean liner hit an iceberg
in the North Atlantic Ocean and sank. Today, we
rarely hear about ships sinking due to collisions
with icebergs. Why? Icebergs are monitored.
Special satellites are one tool used to track the
movement of dangerous icebergs.
Satellite radar detects ships, oil platforms,
sea ice, and icebergs. The radar signal returned
from icebergs is different than the signals coming
from objects such as ships. Experts carefully
review these radar images and data. Is the ship
approaching sea ice? A small island? An iceberg?
Knowing how to analyze and interpret this
information is important. It helps keep ships safe.

There are six size categories of icebergs. The smallest ones

are called growlers. They are around the size of a car. Bergy
bits are larger—the size of a small house. The last four sizes
are small, medium, large, and very large icebergs. A true
iceberg rises at least 16.4 feet (5 m) above the water’s surface.
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

It must also measure at least 49.2 feet (15 m) wide at the water
line. Very large icebergs rise more than 246.1 feet (75 m)
above the sea. They are more than 698.8 feet (213 m) wide. In
Antarctica, an iceberg named B-15 broke off the Ross Ice Shelf.
This iceberg covered an area about the size of Connecticut.
Shape, size, air pockets, and other factors affect how an
iceberg floats. Roughly 80 to 90 percent of an iceberg is under
water. That is where the danger lies. In the past, hundreds of
ships have sunk after striking the underwater part of an iceberg.
These floating ice islands may reflect shades of blue, green,
and white against the brilliant sunlight. Their shapes vary.

Icebergs are dangerous because so much of an

iceberg is under water and cannot be seen.
Some are flat masses. Others are towering peaks. Some look
like icy pyramids. The official shapes include tabular icebergs,
which have flat tops. Domed versions are rounded. Wedge vari-
eties are shaped like pyramids. Pinnacle versions have tall peaks.
Drydock icebergs have a sunken area in the center.
An iceberg may have large air bubbles. As the iceberg
melts, the bubbles appear on the surface. These icebergs take
on strange shapes.
Icebergs begin to melt as soon as they break away from the
glacier. Ocean currents carry icebergs. All polar currents head
toward the equator. The iceberg slowly melts away as it reaches
warmer waters. Its water becomes part of the ocean. By the
time an iceberg reaches 40 degrees latitude, it has usually
melted. Icebergs may take several years to completely disappear.

real WorlD MaTh challenGe

An iceberg calves off the Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica.
Only 10% of the iceberg is above water. That means
90% of the iceberg is below water. The total volume of
the iceberg is 1,630,000 cubic meters. What is the
volume of the section of iceberg that is above water?
What is the volume of the section of iceberg that is
below water? You may want to use a calculator.
(Turn to page 29 for the answers)
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

ChAptER fIVE

Global
WarMInG

I magine a world that looks very different from the one

that exists now. That’s what many scientists fear as the world’s
glaciers continue to melt. Sea level rises as melting ice seeps
into the oceans. In the future, many of the areas we now

The Briksdalsbreen Glacier in Norway keeps

shrinking. Scientists say it is the smallest it
has been since the year 1200.
consider coasts—and the cities near them—could be under
water. Many experts point to climate change and the rising
temperatures of global warming as the reason why Earth’s
glaciers are shrinking.
For many years, scientists have tried to measure changes
in the size of glaciers. Teams drilled holes in the ice in order
to take measurements. They placed measuring sticks into the
holes. They carefully recorded changes in the glacier’s surface
level over time. Using this method, scientists measured
changes in approximately 350 glaciers. But the process was
expensive. It required people to visit every stick regularly in
order to record any changes.
Today, satellites and planes allow scientists to learn more
about glaciers. Laser technology is used to measure changes
in a glacier’s surface. Scientists are able to measure changes in
thousands of glaciers every year with the help of lasers.
Glacier ice around the world is melting. And it has melted
at a faster rate in the past 25 years than it has for several
hundred years. Even ancient glaciers that survived for hun-
dreds of thousands of years are disappearing. Africa’s major
glaciers are found on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. These
glaciers have lost 82 percent of their ice since 1912. By 2020,
Kilimanjaro’s glaciers may disappear completely.
Ice loss is also occurring in Europe’s Alps mountain range
and New Zealand’s mountains. Greenland and Antarctic ice
sheets lose ice daily, too.
21st CentuRy skills libRaRy R e a l W o R l d M at h : G e o G R a p h y GLACIERS

REAL WoRLd MAth ChALLEnGE

The World Glacier Monitoring Service worked with
the United Nations Environment Programme to study
glaciers. Experts measured 30 major glaciers from
1980 to 2001. Read the graph below. Then answer
the questions that follow.
GLOBAL AVERAGE GLACIER
CHANGES, 1980−2001
Meters
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Year

In meters, what was the total ice loss of the

glaciers studied from 1980 to 1990? Was the loss
of ice greater from 1980 to 1985 or from 1995 to
2000? What was the total loss for all glaciers from
1980 to 2000?
Note: Assume that the ice loss totaled 3.4 meters in
1995 and 5.6 meters in 2000.
(Turn to page 29 for the answers)
 Getting to the best place for a
measurement can be dangerous.

Scientists unlock the history of our planet in glacial ice.

They also try to predict the planet’s future by watching the
loss of that same ice. They hope that plans to slow the rate of
global warming may also slow ice loss. Some estimate that if
all the glaciers and ice sheets melted, sea level could rise by as
much as 328 feet (100 m). What does that mean? All coastal
cities would be under water. Many islands would disappear
beneath the seas.
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

21st Century Content

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC) was established in 1988. Climate change
is complex. It doesn’t just affect one nation. It
affects people, wildlife, and agriculture around the
world. That is partly why the organization is made
up of members from government and scientific
groups from many different countries.
The IPCC was created to evaluate the latest
information on climate change. This information
includes possible causes of climate change and its
effects on the economy or environment. Data also
includes ways to cope with these challenges. This
information is useful when government leaders
and lawmakers work to decide what to do about
climate change.

These effects may not happen right away. But changes

in the world’s glaciers shout a loud warning: the ice
is melting.
real WorlD MaTh
challenGe ansWers
Chapter One Chapter Four
Page 9 Page 23
The percentage of total global water The volume of the section of iceberg
held in ice caps, glaciers, and that is above water is 163,000 cubic
permanent snow is 1.7%. meters.
24,064,000 ÷ 1,386,000,000 = 10% = 0.10
0.017 = 1.7% 1,630,000 cubic m x 0.10 =
The percentage of total global 163,000 cubic m
freshwater held in ice caps, glaciers, The volume of the section of iceberg
and permanent snow is 68.7%. that is below water is 1,467,000
24,064,000 ÷ 35,030,000 = cubic meters.
0.687 = 68.7% 90% = 0.90
Chapter Two 1,630,000 cubic m x 0.90 =
Page 13 1,467,000 cubic m
B-15A had an area of 3,294 square Chapter Five
kilometers. Page 26
122 km x 27 km = 3,294 sq km The total ice loss of the glaciers
Chapter Three studied from 1980 to 1990 was
Page 17 2 meters.
The Kutiah Glacier in Pakistan surged 1980 = 0 meters
forward an average of 112 meters 1990 = –2 meters
per day. –2 m – 0 m = –2 m (a loss of 2 meters)
12 km ÷ 107 days = 0.1121 km/day The loss of ice was greater from
0.1121 x 1,000 m = 112.1 = 1995 to 2000.
112 m/day 1980 = 0 m
Page 18 1985 = –1 m
Muir Glacier retreated 333 meters –1 m – 0 m = –1 m (a loss of 1 meter)
per year between 1941 and 1950. 1995 = –3.4 m
3,000 m ÷ 9 years = 333.3 = 2000 = –5.6 m
333 m/year –5.6 m – –3.4 m = –5.6 m + 3.4 m =
–2.2 m (a loss of 2.2 meters)
The ice receded faster between
1976 and 1978 than between 1941 The total loss for all glaciers from
and 1950. 1980 to 2000 was 5.6 meters.
3,000 m ÷ 2 years = 1,500 m/year 2000 = –5.6 m
The glacier retreated 90,000 meters 1980 = 0 m
during the past 200 years. –5.6 m – 0 m = –5.6 m (a loss of 5.6
450 m x 200 years = 90,000 m meters)
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

Glossary

alpine (AL-pine) having to do with mountains

calve (KAV) to separate or break away; icebergs are formed when

large chunks of ice break away from an ice mass

collective (kuh-LEK-tiv) having to do with a group of people

or things

crevasses (kruh-VASS-iz) deep cracks in glacial ice

drought (DROUT) a long period of very little or no rain

drydock icebergs (DRYE-dok EYESS-bergz) icebergs that

have a sunken area near the center that reaches into, or comes close
to, the waterline

global warming (GLOH-buhl WOR-meeng) an overall rise in

world temperatures

piedmont (PEED-mont) near or formed at the base of mountains

pinnacles (PIN-uh-kuhlz) tall peaks

polar (POH-lur) having to do with the areas around the North Pole
or South Pole

satellites (SAT-uh-lites) spacecraft that orbit Earth

surge (SURJ) a rush forward

tabular (TAB-yuh-lur) having a flat surface

tidewater (TIDE-waw-tur) low-lying coastal land

for More InforMaTIon

BOOKS

Green, Robert. Global Warming. Ann Arbor, MI: Cherry Lake

Publishing, 2008.

Sepehri, Sandy. Glaciers. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Publishing, 2008.

Walker, Sally M. Glaciers. Minneapolis: Lerner, 2008.

WEB SITES

National Snow and Ice Data Center—All About Glaciers

nsidc.org/glaciers/quickfacts.html
Find interesting facts about glaciers

USGS—Glaciers and Icecaps: Storehouses of

Freshwater
ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthglacier.html
Learn more about glaciers and how they can affect landscapes

World View of Global Warming—Glaciers and Glacial

Warming, Receding Glaciers
www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/glaciers.html
For photos and information about how climate change affects the
world’s glaciers
21St CEntuRy SkILLS LIbRARy R E A L w O R L D M At h : G E O G R A p h y GlacIers

InDex
alpine glaciers, 4, 5, Glacier Bay, 8 Pastoruri Glacier, 17
6, 25 global warming, 11, piedmont glaciers, 6
Andes mountain 12, 13, 24–25, 27 Pine Island Glacier,
range, 6, 17 Greenland, 6, 16, 21, 16, 23
Antarctica, 5, 6, 25 pinnacles, 17, 23
10–13, 15, 16, growlers, 21
21, 22, 23, 25 Ross Ice Shelf, 13, 22
Arctic, 5, 15 ice ages, 10, 11
icebergs, 6, 8, 13, satellites, 11, 21, 25
B-15 iceberg, 13, 16, 20–23 sizes, 4, 5–6, 21–22,
22 ice caps, 5, 6, 9 25
bergy bits, 21 ice loss, 12–13, 17, snow, 5, 9, 10
Bering Glacier, 5 24, 25, 26, 27–28 surge glaciers, 15, 17
ice samples, 10–12
ice shelves, 8, 12, tabular icebergs, 23
calving, 8, 13, 16,
13, 22 tidewater glaciers, 8,
20–21, 23
18
climate change, 18,
Kangerdlugssuaq
25, 28
Glacier, 16–17 valley glaciers, 4, 5,
continental glaciers,
Kutiah Glacier, 17 6, 8
5–6
crevasses, 17
Malaspina Glacier, 6 water, 6, 9, 11, 13,
monitoring, 11, 21, 17, 23
domed icebergs,
25, 26 wedge icebergs, 23
23
Muir Glacier, 18 West Antarctic
drought, 6, 11
Peninsula, 12
drydock icebergs, 23 North America, 5 Wilkins Ice Shelf, 13

abouT The auThor

Barbara Somervill loves to write about science and geography. The

Real World Math series provided her with the opportunity to combine
interesting facts with practical applications. Barbara has written nearly
200 children’s books and school textbooks. Every book is an opportunity
to learn about new and different subjects. She is married, a mother,
and a grandmother, and she lives in South Carolina.
 21st
Century
Skills Library
Did you know that much of the world’s freshwater is in the form of glaciers? Or that
these huge masses of ice help scientists study global climate changes? Read this book
to find out more about glaciers and what they can teach us about our planet.

The Real World Math: Geography books show readers how they can use their math skills
to learn more about the 21st century world that we live in. Other titles in the series include:

Continents Plains and Plateaus

Islands Rivers
Mountains Volcanoes
Oceans

To guide your reading, look for these notes that will help build the understanding
and skills you’ll need in the 21st century:

Learning & Innovation Skills

You need to learn about many things, but you also need to learn how to learn. These
notes give you hints about how to use what you know in better and more creative ways.

21st Century Content

You study reading, math, science, and social studies. You also need to learn about the
world of work and your community. These notes tell you about business and money. They
also give you ideas about how you can help yourself, your community, and the world.

Life & Career Skills

These notes tell you about skills you will use throughout your life. They give you ideas
about how to work well with others, make good decisions, and achieve your goals in life.

ISBN 978-1-60279-495-5

9 781602 794955