Written by Giselle Hajir, Isabel Pacheco and Stella Wenczel

Table Of Contents

Introduction .......................................... 1 What Is A Glacier ................................. 3 How Glaciers Are Formed .................... 5 When Glaciers Were Formed ............... 6 On The Move With Glaciers ................. 7 Types Of Glaciers ...................................... 9 Landforms Created By Glaciers............ 11 Global Warming ................................... 13 Glossary ............................................ 15 About the Authors .................... 16

To Ms. G, for letting us crowd her computer lab with loud sixth graders to get this project done -GH To Ms. Bull and Mr. Stewart, for never letting us give up -IP To my brother Kale for being amazing -SW

I am over 18 thousand years old!

Hi! My name is Glenn the Glacier!

Ill tell you all about myself and other glaciers in this book. Enjoy!

Youre probably wondering, What is a glacier? A glacier is a mountain of ice that can be as small as a soccer field or as big as a continent. I am as big as a football field, so I am pretty small for a glacier.

Dust and dirt can turn glaciers gray, but I am still an eerie blue. Youre probably wondering why Im blue, when all normal ice is white. When you shine light through a prism, it becomes a rainbow. When light shines on me all the colors of the rainbow but blue get absorbed. Then you see reflected blue light turning the ice blue.

In order to keep this glacier from disappearing, there must be snowy winters and cool summers. Also, more snow must become ice in the winter than ice melts in the summer in order for the glacier to stay the same size.

Glaciers are rivers of ice. A glacier moves because its own weight is putting pressure on it and that is what causes it to move. Glaciers always flow downhill because of gravity. Here are 3 ways that glaciers move: They flow down mountain valleys. They spread out across plains. They spread out to sea. 7

Glaciers move faster or slower depending on the season. If it is summer some of the glacier melts. Water on the bottom of the glacier makes it move more quickly. If it is winter then the ice makes the glacier move very slowly. Glaciers can also flow down into valleys, then the glaciers eventually flow into the ocean. Chunks break off the glacier and float into the sea, turning 8 into icebergs.

There are two main types of glaciers. One kind is called mountain glaciers. A mountain glacier can also be known as a valley glacier. A mountain glacier is a long narrow piece of ice that flows down valleys.

The other kind of glacier is called a continental glacier. There are two different types of continental glaciers. One is called an ice field. The other is called an ice sheet. Ice fields: An ice field is less than 50,000 sq. km. 50,000 Sq. km. is huge. Its as big as Vermont and New Hampshire put together. Valley glaciers connect to make an ice field. Ice sheets: An ice sheet is greater than 50,000 sq. km. Ice sheets can be found only in Antarctica and Greenland. An ice sheet can be about 4,200 meters thick which is about as tall as 10 Empire State buildings. 1 0

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FJORD

Other landforms are created by glaciers moving, scraping the rock away with their enormous weight. An example of this is a fjord. A fjord is a deep, narrow inlet between tall cliffs. A lot of these inlets are formed by valleys carved out by glaciers on the move. Many valleys Ive created have become fjords. 1 2

Global Warming is heating up the Earth and melting all the glaciers! Pieces of us are constantly breaking off or melting away! Now, Im sure youve heard of Global Warming, but maybe you dont know exactly what it is. Global Warming is caused by something called The Greenhouse Effect. Its like using a magnifying glass to fry ants, but on a larger scale. Trace gases like carbon dioxide rise into the air and get trapped in a layer of the atmosphere. Then the sun shines through it, creating the effect of shining through glass, heating up the planet and melting all the glaciers. If all the glaciers melted, the ocean would rise so high that all low land (like most of Florida) would be covered by salt water. Much of our freshwater would be lost, both frozen and underground. All the water trapped in the land underwater would be too salty to drink, so we would lose valuable water resources. 1 3

Even though it sounds bad, Global Warming is not a hopeless case. You and your family can help. If you start riding your bike to school or taking public transportation to work, turning off lights or getting solar electricity, fewer greenhouse gases (gases that contribute to Global Warming) will be generated and Global Warming will slow down. Glaciers need your help to survive. Every day they help irrigate crops, provide drinking water, and even help generate power. So please help SAVE THE GLACIERS!

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Works Cited "ALL ABOUT GLACIERS." National Snow and Ice Data Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. <http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/>. Desonie, Dana. Hydrosphere. New York City: Chelsea House Publishers, 2008. Print. "Glaciers." encyclopedia.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http:// www.encyclopedia.com/topic/glacier.aspx>. "Glaciers and Ice Sheets." Windows To The Universe. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/polar/ cryosphere_glacier1.html>. Mckenzie, Precious. Glaciers. North Mankato: Rourke Publishing, 2011. Print. Rose, Susanna. Earth. New York City: Dorling Kindersley, 1994. Print. Sexton, Colleen. Glaciers. Minneapolis: Bellwether Media, 2008. Print. Vost, Gregory. The Hydrosphere. Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group, 2007. Print. Webster, Christine. Glaciers. New York City: Weigl Publishers, 2006. Print. - - -. Glaciers. New York City: Av2 by Weigl, 2011. Print.

Hi! My name is Glenn the Glacier! Have you ever wondered about glaciers? What they're made of, what kinds there are, and what's happening to them? If you have, read this book! It has everything you need to know. Come with me to learn about the amazing world of glaciers!