After thousands of years, the climate may warm and the glacier melts away. During glaciation, the valley’s shape will have changed from a V-shape to a U-shape. Water can fill the area to form fjords and lakes.
Nearly all scientists agree that we are experiencing a rising temperature of our planet that is caused primarily by our use of fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas). Widespread use of these fuels for heat and energy has caused an increase in atmospheric gases that reflect heat back to the surface of the Earth. This warming of the Earth in recent years has caused some of the large bodies of ice and glaciers around the world to begin melting.
As you know, ice is frozen water, and a great deal of water on the Earth is trapped as ocean ice and glaciers. Some of the small glaciers and the ocean ice in the Arctic at the North Pole have begun to melt, but the most important melting is occurring in two really big glaciers covering the island of Greenland in the north and the Antarctic continent at the South Pole. Sea levels are already rising at slow rates, but most predictions are that over the next 85 years (at the end of this century), sea level may increase by 6 or more feet. This means that there are young people like you who are alive today who will see these changes in sea level. If the Greenland and Antarctic glaciers completely melted, sea level would rise more than 200 feet (a 20-story building)! But if this were to happen, it would be in the distant future.
Let’s look at the effects of a 6-foot rise in sea level. First, some inhabited islands in the Pacific Ocean will be underwater; Holland will be at further risk and have to improve its dikes; many coastal cities around the world will have flooding problems; the Florida Everglades will be endangered; and all of these low areas (including New York City) will be in danger of major flooding during storms.
Second, people will have to move from low-lying areas, and their houses and land will lose their value. Third, coastal-area flooding with salt water will spoil some freshwater sources. Fourth, a lot of good agricultural land in low areas will be lost, so there might be a decline in the availability of food. There will be other effects of this warming of the Earth, including droughts, wildfires and other problems as people search for better places to live and move from one area to another.
Scientists agree that we can slow down these climatic changes if we develop better ways to produce energy, such as solar, wind and other forms of energy, and if we reduce our use of coal, oil and gas. Yet the changes that are in place now will continue, so we must plan for a different kind of future. Humans are very smart and should be able to handle these changes on the Earth, so don’t worry too much. Also, don’t spend a lot of money to buy a house on the beach!
Picture Credit : Google