![]() Use the measurements recorded on the data sheet to create a line graph representing the water level in each tub.Allow the ice in both tubs to melt completely. Compare the water level with the marked line in the clay. At regular intervals, measure the water level and record it on the data sheet.Another way to mark the water level is to mark a line in the clay using a pencil or other object. You can mark the water level with a marker on the outside of the tub, but if the containers are reused, they will have the marks from the previous group.Using the ruler, measure the water level (in millimeters) in each tub and record the data on the student data sheet.Without disturbing the ice cubes, pour water into the land-ice container until the water level is about equal to the water level in the sea-ice container.The water shouldn’t be higher than the land level. Be sure no ice is resting on the bottom of the tub. Pour water into the sea-ice container until the ice floats.In the other tub, place the same number of ice cubes on the bottom of the tub, next to the clay.In one tub, place as many ice cubes as possible on the flat clay surface.Press equal amounts of clay into one side of each plastic tub, making a smooth, flat surface representing land rising out of the ocean.Provide each group with the required materials and directions to conduct the experiment.On the student data sheet, have students record their prediction about which type of ice will contribute more to sea-level rise.Ask students which type of ice, if any, contributes more to sea-level rise.The ice in the Arctic is frozen seawater and therefore considered sea ice.) (The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, along with smaller mountain glaciers, are considered land ice. Ask them to specify if the ice is on land or at sea. Ask students where there is a lot of ice on Earth.Tell students they’re going to conduct an experiment to learn how melting ice contributes to sea-level rise. As a class, discuss sea-level rise and climate change.Both thermal expansion and ice melt are the results of the rise in global average temperatures on land and sea known as climate change. While density differences between salt water and freshwater result in a difference between the volume of salty sea water being displaced by sea ice and the freshwater that would result from the melting of that sea ice, it is minimal and beyond the scope of this lesson.Īnother contributor to sea-level rise is the increase in volume that occurs when water is heated, called thermal expansion. As a result, sea level does not rise when sea ice melts. The volume of water they displace as ice is about the same as the volume of water they add to the ocean when they melt. This is because they are already in the water. Icebergs and frozen seawater also melt in warm temperatures but are not significant contributors to sea level rise. As these ice sheets and glaciers melt, the water eventually runs into the ocean, causing sea level to rise. As temperatures rise, glaciers melt faster than they accumulate new snow. Greenland and Antarctica contain giant ice sheets that are also considered glaciers. They are found in the mountains of every continent except Australia. Glaciers – large sheets of ice and snow – exist on land all year long. ![]() Sea level is rising, in part, because melting glaciers on land are adding more water to Earth’s oceans. Avoid pressing your fingers into the clay and creating depressions that will block the flow of water. ![]()
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