HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF OUR

M E LT I N G E A RT H
Map and Report:
Ma dd i e Ke l l a r
Colorado Mountain College
GIS-210 Fall 2019
 I N T RO D U C T I O N

My goals for this project were to demonstrate a trend in climate change and make an
unbiased and general statement about human behavioral impact on our living planet. The
Greenland Ice Sheet covers over 1.7 million square kilometers and together with the
Antarctic Ice Sheet holds about 99% of Earth’s fresh water (National Snow and Ice Data
Center). I felt this topic was an ideal candidate for geospatial representation given its general
mass and level of concern in our community. Often, the impact of unsustainable consumption
of our resources is undermined; the connections I draw in my map do demonstrate a
correlation between population growth, greenhouse gas emissions, and snow melt on the
Greenland Ice Sheet to be reinforced by scientific research and evidence.
D ATA C I TAT I O N S

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 METHODS

Gas_Emissions
 This map demonstrates a correlation between United
States population growth, greenhouse gas emissions,
and the shrinking of the Greenland Ice Mass. These
results can be extrapolated to a global region where
other countries share equal responsibility in the
warming of our planet. Although geospatial data was
found for 1979-2007, the Greenland Ice Sheet
Average Annual Mass graph in the bottom right -hand
corner of the map depicts the mass of the Greenland
Ice Sheet shrinking significantly annually from 2002 -
2019 indicating that these growing trends have been
RESULTS c o n t i n u a l i n t o c u r r e n t d a y. T h i s m a p w i l l b e s t s e r v e a
g en er a l a u di en ce a n d wa s m ea n t to m a ke a g en er a l
statement about egocentric behavior affliction with
the natural and historic processes of the
environment. Some could argue that the correlation
of population growth, greenhouse gas emissions, and
the shrinking of the Greenland Ice Mass to be falsely
c o n n e c t e d o r m i s r e p r e s e n t e d ; h o w e v e r, g r e e n h o u s e
gas emissions are the number one influencer of
global warming and the natural progression of
greenhouse gas emissions before human introduction
is benign compared to real time circumstances and
the over consumption of fossil fuels.
 WORKS CITED

National Snow and Ice Data Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/quickfacts/icesheets.html.