Homework 1

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Svbanpura

Science

Sinclair Community College

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Homework #1 – Glaciers in the Swiss Alps (10 points) European scientists in the 19th century realized that many parts of Europe were covered by glaciers in the past, and therefore climate must have been much colder. What caused the Ice Ages was a key scientific question in the mid- to late 19th century. Ignace Venetz, an engineer in charge of the railroads in Switzerland, monitored the front of active glaciers in the Swiss Alps and based on finding similar deposits all over the Alps argued for a past ice age in 1821. Other scientists such as Jean de Charpentier, Jens Esmark, and Louis Agassiz all recognized the previous extent of glaciers based on geomorphic landforms and convinced naturalists by the mid1800s of a former Ice Age in Europe. In this exercise you will take a close look at some of the same glaciers that Ignace Venetz and Louis Agassiz studied to see if you can identify past changes in the extent of the glaciers. You will identify glacial features in and around the Rhone Glacier and the Stein Glacier, reconstruct the maximum extent of these glaciers during the Little Ice Age (~16th-18th century in Europe), and document how much these glaciers have receded over the last ~150 years. Although these early geologists were documenting the extent of the glaciers during the Last Glacial Maximum (~22,000 years ago), we can use the rapid retreat of the glaciers since the Industrial Revolution using similar methods. For this exercise make sure you have Google Earth Pro downloaded on to your computer. The web-based Google Earth program does not have all of the same features. To convert your units to metric, go under ‘tools’ and ‘options’ and select ‘meters, kilometers’ under 3d view. Rhone Glacier Using Google Earth, go to the Rhone Glacier (46.605912°N, 8.387430°E) in the Swiss Alps. Take a close look at the Rhone Glacier using Google Earth. For the following questions, please use metric units. 1. Go to the terminus of the Rhone glacier. What is the elevation for the terminus of the glacier today? (1 point) 2. Go to an eye altitude of ~4 km (lower right of your screen) with the terminus of the Rhone Glacier in the center of the image. Now save the image by going to file, save, save image, and then hit ‘save image’ at the top of the screen. Then insert that image below. On the image, identify the location of the lateral and terminal moraines. By comparing the height of the lateral moraines and the adjacent modern glacier, what was the difference in the height of the glacier when these moraines formed? Please mark on your image where you determined the elevations. (1 points) 3. Below is a photograph of the Rhone Glacier from 1855 with the town of Gletsch in the foreground. Using Google Earth, what was the elevation of the Rhone glacier terminus in 1855. (1 point) 4. Using the ruler in Google Earth, how much has the Rhone Glacier receded (distance in km) since 1850? (1 point) Stein Glacier Using Google Earth, please go to the Stein Glacier (46.709601°N, 8.437411°E) in the Swiss Alps. Please take a close look at the Stein Glacier using Google Earth. Orient your Google earth image so that you are looking up the Stein Glacial Valley. For the following questions, please use metric units. 1. Go to the terminus of the Stein glacier. What is the elevation for the terminus of the glacier today? (1 point) 2. Actually, the image that you are using on Google Earth is from 2010. Take a look at the photo from 2015 below. You can see that the glacier tongue has melted and the current terminus is at the bedrock ridge. Now estimate the elevation of the terminus. (1 point) 3. Go to an eye altitude of ~3 km with the Steinsee (glacial lake) in the center of the image. Now save the image and insert that image below. On the image, identify the location of the lateral and terminal moraines, which are from the Little Ice Age. How high are the lateral moraines relative to the elevation of the lake? (1 point) 4. What is the difference in elevation for the terminus of the glacier today versus during the Little Ice Age (i.e. the terminal moraine on the image above)? Also, how much has the Stein Glacier receded (as of the summer of 2015) since the Little Ice Age? (1 point) 5. Temperature decreases as elevation increases. The average rate for this in alpine settings (the wet adiabatic lapse rate) is ~0.5°C/100m in elevation. By using the difference in elevation for the modern and Little Ice Age terminuses for the Rhone and Stein glaciers, how much has this area warmed since ~1850? Please show your work. (2 points)
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Explanation & Answer

please go through it. amm waiting for your feedback before it is too late

Homework #1 – Glaciers in the Swiss Alps (10 points)
European scientists in the 19th century realized that many parts of Europe were covered
by glaciers in the past, and therefore climate must have been much colder. What caused the Ice
Ages was a key scientific question in the mid- to late 19th century. Ignace Venetz, an engineer in
charge of the railroads in Switzerland, monitored the front of active glaciers in the Swiss Alps
and based on finding similar deposits all over the Alps argued for a past ice age in 1821. Other
scientists such as Jean de Charpentier, Jens Esmark, and Louis Agassiz all recognized the
previous extent of glaciers based on geomorphic landforms and convinced naturalists by the mid1800s of a former Ice Age in Europe.
In this exercise you will take a close look at some of the same glaciers that Ignace Venetz
and Louis Agassiz studied to see if you can identify past changes in the extent of the glaciers.
You will identify glacial features in and around the Rhone Glacier and the Stein Glacier,
reconstruct the maximum extent of these glaciers during the Little Ice Age (~16th-18th century in
Europe), and docum...


Anonymous
Really great stuff, couldn't ask for more.

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