NASA

Summary of Segments

Introduction: Meet Your Guides the Nine Ice Worms

There are nine Ice Worms introduced here (five male and four female) who play a part throughout Glacier Power by presenting the "Legend of Miner Ed," by explaining difficult vocabulary words, and by providing hints and clues along the way. When your computer cursor clicks on an ice worm, the ice worm will audibly speak to you via sound clips.

Legend of Miner Ed

The Ice Worms present a story about an old sourdough prospector, Miner Ed, who traveled across a glacier to file claim after discovering gold. He didn't realize that the glacier, in the beginning stages of a surge, would break into crevasses or that he would fall into a crevasse. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery is introduced here. The "Legend" segments presented later also challenge students to use SAR imagery to answer questions about the whereabouts of Miner Ed.

What's a Glacier?

Glaciers are immensely powerful and can carve away mountains, but they begin with small snowflakes. A computer art animation of a snowflake emphasizes this.

A definition of a glacier is given here but it is also pointed out that there are many kinds of glaciers. In this module students learn about the differences between these glacier types:

  • Ice Sheets
  • Ice Caps
  • Cirques
  • Valley Glaciers
  • Tidewater Glaciers
  • Piedmont Glaciers
  • Hanging Glaciers
  • Glaciers can also be classified as "warm" or "cold."

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Amazing Maze," and the "Snowball Melt and Freeze" project.

Where Have Glaciers Been?

This segment introduces the kinds of geological "clues" glaciers leave behind such as landforms, processes, and valley shapes. Geologists and glaciologists are described as "world detectives" who use these clues to discover where glaciers have been. Students are prepared for the "Glacier Detectives" and "Legend" units and to make discoveries of their own.

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Connect the Related Words," and the "See How Types of Valleys are Formed" project.

Glacier Anatomy and Other Diagrams

Three figures depicting basic glacier facts are included in this reference segment to which teachers and students can often refer.

  • "Anatomy of a Glacier" depicts a large valley glacier with numbers on various areas which, when clicked, have pop-up text in a side window explaining what part or process of a glacier is represented.
  • "Anatomy of a Surge" depicts four basic stages representing the beginning to ending process of glacier surges.
  • "Types of Crevasses" is a diagram explaining crevasses in terms of flow and shear stresses within glaciers.

In this module you will learn about the different parts of a glacier, stages of a surging glacier, and the kinds of crevasses created by stresses within glaciers.

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Matching," and the "Drawing Glacier Anatomy" project.

Strange Glacier Phenomena

A glacier can seem to come to life with strange voices, mysterious powers, and unusual life forms. Videos and photos illustrate:

  • Glacier Voices
  • Glacier Life
  • Fossils
  • Glacier Force

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Crossword Puzzle," and the "Hair Spray the Snow" project.

What are Crevasses?

A crevasse is one of the most beautiful features in glaciers yet can also pose the most danger. Photos from deep inside crevasses are shown here. Different types of crevasses are depicted in a table as well as a diagram. This same diagram appears again in the "Anatomy and other diagrams " segment.

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Word Scramble-Types of Crevasses," and the "Silly Putty® Cigars" project.

Glacier Danger & Safety

This segment follows the "Crevasses" segment by describing the dangers of seracs, snow bridges, and crevasses. A basic glacier travel safety lesson is given which includes descriptions of travel methods, equipment, and clothing.

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Dress Your Friend for His/Her Hiking Adventure," and the "Double Fisherman's Knot" project.

Glacier Detectives 1

  • Become a glaciologist, be a glacier detective and explore the interactive questions in this unit.
  • The ice worms and the woolly mammoth are study partners and have helpful suggestions.
  • This segment tests knowledge gained throughout the first six segments of the module by guiding students through the questions presented.
  • Correct and incorrect answers generate immediate response/assessment.

This segment also includes two word puzzles which reinforce vocabulary covered in the first six segments: a "Circle Scramble Exercise" and a "Word Cross-out Exercise."

Legend 1!

This segment begins to answer the question, "If Miner Ed fell into a crevasse and the glacier is moving, might Ed (and his poke of gold) reach the terminus sometime? When?" Students can look where Miner Ed fell into the Bering Glacier, begin to interpret satellite images, and learn to measure like a scientist!

How Do Glaciers Form?

The metamorphic process of snow becoming firn and then glacier ice is described and illustrated. One computer art animations depict a snowflake falling onto a snow patch in a mountain and another depicts the growth of a normal valley glacier showing the progress of a glacier's formation.

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Circle the Facts," and the "Firn Structure" project.

How Do Glaciers Move?

Glacier advance and retreat is explained by defining the following terms relevant to glacier movement:

  • Accumulation Zone
  • Ablation Zone
  • Equilibrium Line
  • Mass Balance
  • Ice Flow
  • Glacier Bed
  • Moraine
  • Terminus
  • Calving
  • Meltwater

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Connect the Words with Definitions," and the "More Silly Putty® Cigars" project.

Calving

This segment includes photos of icebergs and a short video depicting the process of calving. Different colors of icebergs in relation to their composition is discussed

Also included are wave warnings about the calving waves sent across the Copper River by Child's Glacier, a publicly accessible glacier. Ice worms on these pages have something to say about glacier calving.

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Circle the Calving Glacier," and the "Think About It" project.

Why is Glacier Ice Blue?

Glacial ice is different than the frozen water you see in a lake or the ice you get out of your freezer. It is much more compact and dense. We discuss how this density affects the colors we see in glacier ice.

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Blue Ice," and the "Bubbles in an Ice Cube" project.

Why Do Scientists Study Glaciers?

In this segment we discuss glacial geological processes, climate, and the fact that the air pockets in glacier ice contain samples of the Earth's atmosphere as it was long ago. Will the great continental ice sheets begin growing again as in ages past or will global warming occur due to human influence and the greenhouse effect?

Scientists use satellite imagery in their study of glaciers. The 1993-94 surge of Bering Glacier was studied extensively using Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery. Researchers were able to determine the velocity of the surge wave in the glacier using SAR images. A sequence of SAR images were terrain-corrected and morphed into a video, presented here.

The review provides vocabulary, review questions, the exercise "Why Study," and the "World Glaciers" project.

Glacier Detectives 2

  • Students again become glaciologists and glacier detectives to explore the interactive questions in this unit.
  • The ice worms and the woolly mammoth are study partners and have helpful suggestions.
  • This segment tests knowledge gained throughout the second five segments of the module by guiding students through the questions presented.
  • Correct and incorrect answers generate immediate response/assessment.

This segment also includes two word puzzles which reinforce vocabulary covered in the first six segments: a "Fill in the Blanks Exercise" and a "Find the Hidden Words Exercise."

Legend 2!

This segment introduces the surge front wave into the concept of glacier movement. Some measurements are provided so that students may use simple equations to discover how fast the surge front wave in the glacier is moving and how this might effect Miner Ed's progress towards the terminus. Students get to see a science graduate student at the glacier and interpret more satellite images of the surge of Bering Glacier.

Alaskan Virtual Reality (in progress)

In this segment you can explore 25 images of Alaska's glaciers with Dr. Claude (Chip) McMillan III, Assistant Professor of Education, University of Alaska Fairbanks. The images may also be viewed without the text in slide show format by double clicking on the AK Glacier Slide Show icon on the CD. Also in this segment, a real expedition up Mt. McKinley, Alaska with Dr. McMillan is available in 30 images. Again, the images may be viewed without text in slide show format by double clicking on the Mt. McKinley Slide Show icon on the CD.

Over 800 ERS-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images obtained by the Alaska SAR Facility were used to create a nearly seamless mosaic of Alaska. Using the resources of the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center (ARSC), the SAR data were terrain corrected using Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and computer-generated fly-bys are in the process of being created. Students and teachers will be able to click on the name of a glacier or on a general vicinity map to activate a fly-by. There is one example available now.

Legend 3!

This exercise is based on a successful Master of Science thesis by James Roush, "The 1993-'94 Surge of Bering Glacier, Alaska Observed with Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar." Again some measurements are given so that students may use simple equations to solve the mystery legend of Miner Ed trapped in the Glacier. There is a surprise ending which encourages students to participate in a fun activity by creating their own glacier rhythms.

Teacher's Guide

The Teacher's Guide contains all segments of Glacier Power in the free software, Acrobat Reader. Teachers may print out their own copies. Here, also are Lesson Plans by Dr. Claude (Chip) McMillan III, Assistant Professor of Education, University of Alaska Fairbanks. This segments also has links to vocabulary, exercises, projects, review segments, and contains an answer key.

Glossary

Special attention was given to the glossary so that it would contain an illustration or figure with almost every definition of glacier terminology. Most terms are audio-reinforced by ice worms' voices.