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Catalyst: Thinning ice sheet

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Man looks at computer image of Antarctica on computer
Catalyst: Thinning ice sheet

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  9–10


Discover that that the massive ice sheet in East Antarctica has been losing mass since 2006 instead of growing, as was previously thought.

Watch animations to see how scientists from NASA and Australia are using satellite technology and aerial monitoring to investigate the thickness of East Antarctica's ice sheet.

Find out how climate change affects ice sheets and global sea levels.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Why do you think climate scientists are closely monitoring Antarctica? What do you know about its climate? Do you think that the continent of Antarctica is relatively stable?
  2. 2.Watch for the twin GRACE satellites and what their data shows about East Antarctica's ice sheet. How is this data backed up by data from different technology? Watch scientists fly over Antarctica using monitoring devices to study both the ice thickness and underlying bedrock. What do they discover?
  3. 3.The clip mentions conflicting reports that Antarctica is growing, but this view is explained as one caused by a confusion of sea ice with grounded ice. Can you explain the difference? Which one matters in terms of climate change's consequences?
  4. 4.The scientists in this clip agree that Antarctica's ice sheets are thinning, but their predictions about resulting sea level change vary. Note down the different predictions you heard in the video and research and add current predictions from other sources, including those on the internet. List some suggested consequences for the world of the predicted changes in sea levels.



Date of broadcast: 29 Apr 2010


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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