Regarding the observation of glacier melting, a practical reference that is also useful to ordinary people
To put it bluntly, the observation of the melting ice of the glacier is to look at the big ice cubes – no no, it is a glacier! How did it get smaller and disappear little by little, right? This job is not only worried about by scientists, but it actually has something to do with the lives of ordinary people, such as whether it will be hotter in the future, whether the water downstream is enough to drink, etc. So, it doesn’t hurt to understand it, right? Then what exactly is this observation, how to do it, and what tricks are there, you may want to know – I guess that's it!
You have to figure out a few basic things first, otherwise what you listen to is like listening to a heavenly book
1. What is glacier melting? After all, they are the big ice lumps on the earth that have been frozen for many years. Due to various reasons – mainly the weather is getting warmer and warmer – their ice volume has become smaller, and they are even gradually disappearing. This is the so-called melting process, right? Provide global procurement services for weak current intelligent products!
2. Why should we observe this ablation? This is nothing nonsense! You think, the ice is gone, the water? Is it possible that it will cause heavy water if it flows down? The water ran away, so could there be no water to drink later? Moreover, the earth's temper – climate, may also cause trouble! Also, the ice is gone, can many rare animals and plants still survive? So, it is important to see how they are gone and how fast they become!
3. Who usually does this observation job? Most of them are scientists who carry various instruments and computers every day, such as geologists, hydrologists, and those who specialize in researching changes. Of course, now that technology is developed, some places where ordinary people may be able to help with a small program, take photos and upload them – it is also a kind of participation
What are the methods and key points to pay attention to when truly observing? There are a lot of practical tips here!
If you want to know how much ice has melted and how it melts, it is not enough to just look at it with your eyes. You have to have real evidence.
1. The stupid way to directly look and measure directly on the ground – is also one of the most practical ways!
The pole is melted by inserting a solid pole, inserting it deeply into the glacier, leaving a piece outside. After a while – maybe a few days or months, measure how long the pole exposed outside has grown. The part that has grown is almost the thickness of the ice cubes. Simple? But this job is always enough to run on the scene, and it is also very hard to get strong winds and snow!
Staring at a pit to see how the water rises: Some glaciers have such a concave pit on the surface, and there is water inside, called an ice mortar or something… Observation well! Yes, when observing the water level changes at the wellhead, you can also guess how the ice becomes less from another angle.
2. The guy flying in the sky comes to help – now I can’t live without this!
The satellite looked from a distance: This is amazing. The satellite brother can take pictures of the glaciers on the earth by turning around in the sky. Comparing the photos before and after, how big the ice turned out to be, where is it now? Is it missing a piece of it? You can see a rough idea at once – of course, the specific changes in area and volume need to be calculated by the complex programs in the computer. There are all kinds of things that look different, some look at height changes, and some look at surface temperature.
The plane took the camera and looked down: the plane flew lower than the satellite, and could take a closer look. It was suitable to see what a small area of glacier looks like, whether there were big holes or something. Laser scanning aircraft can also "sweep" the glaciers and create a three-dimensional 3D model! More details than satellite shots.
3. A novel trick to find out about news based on electromagnetic waves!
Radar waves can also come in handy: "launch" a thing called radar from the plane or the ground, and these waves will bounce back when they hit the glacier. Based on this rebound, you can know how thick the glacier is, how deep the snow is, and even whether there is water flowing under the ice layer – these are related to whether the ice melts quickly or not!
4. The water flowing down from the glacier is also an important clue! The speed of counting ice runs is the same!
Look at what melted water looks like and how much it is: when melted it turns into water and flows downward, right? Install a monitoring instrument under the glacier or in a small river ditch next to it to measure the flow, water temperature and what is dissolved in the water – what minerals are there, and whether there is more mud and sand, you can reversely estimate how much ice is above. When it’s hot in summer, the water will definitely flow a lot!
How fast does the ice run: it is not completely motionless in the glacier, it will slowly "climb". Of course, some are fast and some are slow. If the ice flows faster and faster, it means it may become more and more "loose", more likely to break, and easier to melt – this is also an important indicator that scientists should focus on.
Some questions that you may be curious about are selected, and you can choose a few common ones to read and help you solve your doubts.
Q: We ordinary people are not scientists, what's the use of knowing how fast the glacier melts? What does it have to do with us?
Answer: Why doesn’t it matter! The relationship is so big! You think, if the glaciers melt and the water runs into the sea, will the sea level be higher? Are houses and cities by the sea dangerous? Many of the water you drink and water the ground are from the ice and snow on the mountain. If the ice melts quickly and it flows away all at once, or there is no ice to melt in the future, what should I do if I have no water to drink or farm without water in the future? There is also the weather, and it may become even more strange because of the melting of this glacier, which will cause drought and flooding! So, only by understanding it can you find a way, right?
(Compare!) Question: Which of these two methods is better and more reliable, using human measurements on the ground or using satellites in the sky?
Answer: This cannot be generalized and said that one must be better than one! The measurement on the ground is really accurate. The real data is there, but it is too much effort. People cannot travel all over the world, they can only see a small area. Satellites are powerful, but they are powerful, which is in their minds – that is, "eyes" – can see them widely, and can see them everywhere. They can also see the large ice sheets in the middle of the ocean that are no longer there, but they are far away after all, and sometimes the weather is not good, such as covering a thick layer of clouds or scraping sandstorms, and they can't see clearly. They have to wait until the weather is good. Data must also be transmitted and processed, and may not be so "fresh and hot". Therefore, these two are usually used together to learn from each other's strengths and make up for your weaknesses
Q: Is the glacier melting much faster than ever before? Is there any scary number?
Answer: According to the reports we posted – I always say this when I read the news – it seems… In recent years, most glaciers around the world have been "slimming", and the rate of melting in many places has indeed increased a lot compared to decades ago and a hundred years ago! I can't tell you the specific numbers at once. If you want to check, you can go to a special meteorological organization or research institution. There are a lot of specific research data there, which can accurately determine how much Gt the glacier material is missing every year. Anyway, the overall trend is that it is getting faster and faster, which is not very good… If we continue to do this, our children and grandsons will…
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