Geology What Is the National

Geology

What is the National Snow and Ice Data Center? What do they do?

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is a division of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado. They support research of frozen areas around the world. The study snow, ice, glaciers, frozen ground, and climate interactions. They administer and allocate scientific data; they produce tools for data access, they support data users, they undertake scientific research, and teach the public about the cryosphere.

What is the Cryosphere?

The cryosphere is the portions the surface of the Earth where water exists in a solid form. This comprises sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, and permafrost.

What is sea ice?

Sea ice seawater that is frozen and floats on the surface of the ocean. It shapes and melts in conjunction with the polar seasons, which affects both human doings and biological habitats.

What is the difference between sea ice and glacial ice?

The basic dissimilarity is that sea ice shapes from salty ocean water, and glacial ice shapes from fresh water or snow. Sea ice occurs only in the ocean while glacial ice is thought to be land ice.

5) How are icebergs formed; do they originate from sea ice or glaciers?

Icebergs are formed when large pieces of ice detach from glaciers and land in the ocean.

6) What does the term ice extent mean?

Ice extent is the total area covered by some amount of ice and is typically reported in square kilometers.

7) Has the Arctic always had ice in the summer?

Some evidence from the age of the dinosaurs shows that there was a moderate climate that included ferns and other green vegetation. Derived from the paleoclimate record from ice and ocean cores, the last temperate period in the Arctic peaked about eight thousand years ago which leads experts to believe that the Arctic has not always had ice in the summer. A recent study though, suggests that over five thousand years ago, the Arctic had considerably less sea ice in the summertime than today, but it was not apparent whether the Arctic was totally free of sea ice in the summertime throughout that time.

8) What is the difference between the seasonal patterns of Arctic Ice in comparison to Antarctic Ice?

The model of Antarctic maximum sea ice is generally symmetric around the pole, shaping a circle around Antarctica. On the other hand, the Arctic is asymmetric, with a lot more ice in some longitudes than in others.

9) What is the explanation for these variations?