Page 359 - Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology

BIG IDEAS PRE-LAB VIDEO

Earth’s crysphere is its snow and ice (frozen water),
including permafrost, sea ice, mountain glaciers,
continental ice sheets, and the polar ice caps. The extent
of snow and ice in any given area depends on how much
snow and ice accumulates during winter months and
how much snow and ice melts during summer months.
Glaciers are one of the best known components of the
cryosphere, because they are present on all continents
except Australia and have created characteristic
landforms and resources utilized by many people.

FOCUS YOUR INQUIRY

THINK What is the cryosphere, and how do changes in
|
About It the cryosphere affect other parts of the Earth
system?

ACTIVITY 13.1 Cryosphere Inquiry (p. 330 )

THINK | How do glaciers affect landscapes?
About It

ACTIVITY 13.2 Mountain Glaciers and Glacial
Landforms (p. 330 )

ACTIVITY 13.3 Continental Glaciation of North
America (p. 330 )
1
13 THINK | How is the cryosphere affected by climate

change?
About It

LA B O RA T O R Y
ACTIVITY 13.4 Glacier National Park Investigation (p. 334 )

ACTIVITY 13.5 Nisqually Glacier Response to Climate
Glaciers and Change (p. 334 )

the Dynamic ACTIVITY 13.6 The Changing Extent of Sea Ice (p. 335 )

Cryosphere Introduction
The cryosphere is all of Earth’s snow and ice (frozen
water). It all begins with a single snowflake falling from
C ONTRIBUTING A UTHORS the sky or a single crystal of ice forming in a body of
Sharon Laska • Acadia University water. Over time, a visible body of snow or ice may

Kenton E. Strickland • Wright State University–Lake Campus form. Most snow and ice melts completely over summer
Nancy A. Van Wagoner • Acadia University months, providing much-needed water to communities.

However, there are areas of Earth’s surface where the
annual amount of ice accumulation exceeds the annual
Kennicott Glacier, a long (43 km, 27 mi) valley glacier in Alaska. amount of ice melting. Permanent masses of ice can
Mountains in the distance are where snow and ice accumulate and
form the glacier. Down valley, dark medial moraines of rocky drift exist there. These areas ( FIGURE 13.1 ) range from places
are deposited from melting ice. (Photo by Michael Collier) with permanently frozen ground (permafrost), to places
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