Although scientists have been monitoring the movement of glaciers for over 100 years, there is a renewed interest because of the fear that global warming may be causing a widespread melt-back.
Does the data fit this model?
Collect data on several different glaciers and chart their progress over the last 50 years.
A good place to start is with the glaciers in Alaska or on Mt.
Rainier in Washington State.
Data can be obtained from the Internet (see resources) or from a regional U.
S.
Geological Survey Office.
Make dirty ice cubes by mixing different amounts of dirt and debris in the water before freezing it.
Identify which ice cube has the least mass and which has the greatest.
Place these two ice cubes, plus a third whose mass is some where in between, on an inclined ramp and allow them to melt.
What do you observe?
How is this similar to what happens when a glacier melts?