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Savor the Cryosphere

Patrick A. Burkhart, Dept. of Geography, Geology, and the Environment, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania 16057,
USA; Richard B. Alley, Dept. of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA; Lonnie G.
Thompson, School of Earth Sciences, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA;
James D. Balog, Earth Vision Institute/Extreme Ice Survey, 2334 Broadway Street, Suite D, Boulder, Colorado 80304, USA; Paul E.
Baldauf, Dept. of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
33314, USA; and Gregory S. Baker, Dept. of Geology, University of Kansas, 1475 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA

ABSTRACT Cryosphere,” a Pardee Keynote Symposium loss of ice will pass to the future. The
at the 2015 Annual Meeting in Baltimore, extent of ice can be measured by satellites
This article provides concise documen- Maryland, USA, for which the GSA or by ground-based glaciology. While we
tation of the ongoing retreat of glaciers, recorded supporting interviews and a provide a brief assessment of the first
along with the implications that the ice loss webinar. method, our focus on the latter is key to
presents, as well as suggestions for geosci- informing broad audiences of non-special-
ence educators to better convey this story INTRODUCTION ists. The cornerstone of our approach is the
to both students and citizens. We present use of repeat photography so that the scale
the retreat of glaciers—the loss of ice—as The cryosphere is the portion of Earth and rate of retreat are vividly depicted.
emblematic of the recent, rapid contraction that is frozen, which includes glacial and Science is grounded in observation, so sci-
of the cryosphere. Satellites are useful for periglacial environs on land, where ice, ence education will benefit from display-
assessing the loss of ice across regions permafrost, or snow cover dominate, as ing the recently exposed landscapes. We
with the passage of time. Ground-based well as ice-covered sea. Geographically, close by prompting people to value the
glaciology, particularly through the study arctic regions and the higher elevation por- cryosphere and to recognize the conse-
of ice cores, can record the history of envi- tions of alpine regions at lower latitudes quences of fossil fuel consumption.
ronmental conditions present during the are included. We assert that the retreat of
existence of a glacier. Repeat photography glaciers—the loss of ice—is emblematic of RETREAT OF GLACIERS
vividly displays the rapid retreat of glaciers the recent, rapid contraction of the cryo-
that is characteristic across the planet. This sphere. Because relatively few people visit Earth is losing ice. The instances of gla-
loss of ice has implications to rising sea such places due to their remoteness, we cial retreat far exceed those of advance.
level, greater susceptibility to dryness in note the difficulty that many non-special- Zemp et al. (2015) reported glaciological
places where people rely upon rivers deliv- ists have in recognizing the scope of this and geodetic observations of over 5,200
ering melt water resources, and to the issue. Our response is to explain ice loss in glaciers from nineteen regions around the
destruction of natural environmental tangible terms that feature multimedia, as world, showing that the rates of early
archives that were held within the ice. well as to provide geoscience educators twenty-first–century ice mass loss are with-
Warming of the atmosphere due to rising with information for doing so themselves. out precedent, at least for the few-century
concentrations of greenhouse gases We presented this topic as “Savor the observational period. The compilation
released by the combustion of fossil fuels Cryosphere,” a Pardee Keynote of Zemp et al. (2008) shows that, since
is causing this retreat. We highlight multi- Symposium at the 2015 Annual Meeting of 1900, retreating glaciers have been more
media productions that are useful for the GSA in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. common than advancing ones (see http://
teaching this story effectively. As geosci- Archival interviews are available at https:// www.grid.unep.ch/glaciers/img/5-1.jpg).
ence educators, we attempt to present the www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1-jzYuea9E, These inventories are based upon a variety
best scholarship as accurately and elo- and a webinar is available at https:// of different approaches to measurement;
quently as we can, to address the core chal- attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/ hence, we present both remote and close
lenge of conveying the magnitude of 5467381313092358658 (no charge to observation.
anthropogenic impacts, while also encour- register to see the information). Our
aging optimistic determination on the part approach here is to document glacial Space-Based Observation
of students, coupled to an increasingly retreat, noting that rising air temperature is
informed citizenry. We assert that under- the principal cause of it (coupled with Satellites are useful for studying glaciers
standing human perturbation of nature, warming sea water and changes in ocean for many reasons. Ice loss can be assessed
then choosing to engage in thoughtful sci- currents in areas with tidewater glaciers), by repeat gravimetry, which quantifies
ence-based decision-making, is a wise then to review the implications of ice loss, changes in ice mass, or by altimetry, which
choice. This topic comprised “Savor the and finally to present the legacy that the contributes to measuring changing surface
elevation, coupled together with repeat

GSA Today, v. 27, doi: 10.1130/GSATG293A.1. © The Geological Society of America, 2017.

4 GSA Today | August 2017