Antarctica and Greenland Mass-Balance Problem

Background

We have learned in class that sea level rise provides strong evidence to global warming theory. Of the four factors that contribute to sea level rise, Greenland and Antarctica contain the highest degrees of future uncertainty... greater stakes on earth's climatological "dice roll". With this exercise, you control the future of global warming (or cooling) of the world.

The Problem

Hopefully, you remember the relationship between global warming, sea level rise, mass-balance, accumulation, and ablation. Your job is to predict an increase or decrease in mass-balance and sea level rise based on seven different climactic scenarios.

Directions

Before beginning, you may want to look at Fig. 9.3 given in the IPCC Scientific Assessment. Keep these two graphs handy when doing the exercise. Choose a particular scenario and click it. For each scenario, answer the questions below. Don't forget to close the image before you're ready to move on. (Note: The accumulation and ablation figures are not actual amounts... they are arbitrary examples.)

We would like this lesson to take on the form of an open discussion between lesson participants and the developer, Joe Smith. To facilitate the discussion, please include any or all of the following in your electronic dialog posting.

  1. Questions you have as you work on the lesson.
  2. Answers to the following questions:
    • Is accumulation or ablation the dominant factor for this scenario?
    • Based on this, is the total mass-balance positive or negative for Antarctica and Greenland?
    • Will global sea level rise or fall for this scenario?
  3. Constructive comments or concerns regarding the ease or difficulty in understanding the concepts.
  4. Suggestions for improving the lesson.
  5. Any additional constructive comments you wish to make.

Different Degrees of Global Warming

When you are done, simply return to the sea-level rise home page.