Question

glacier discussion
glaciers are slow moving rivers of snow and ice that carve land in to spectacular forms. they have been shrinking in some places and growing in others. some scientist say that if carbon dioxide (co2) continues to increase in the atmosphere, glaciers will disappear. others say this is a natural cycle that has nothing to do with carbon dioxide (co2) levels in the atmosphere. after watching the videos on glaciers in class, what is your opinion? is there a link between increasing co2 levels and glacier size? what problems would humans face if glaciers continue to retreat? you need to make one comment for yourself and then one rebuttal on another persons thread.
please use some examples from the videos we watched in class, the answers to your questions in the notes will help with this. if you use an outside source please put the url in the reply.
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Explanation:

The problem is about glaciers, their retreat, and the link to CO₂, which falls under Environmental Sciences (a subfield of Natural Science). To answer, we analyze: 1. Opinion on Glacier-CO₂ Link: Scientific consensus (e.g., IPCC reports) shows rising CO₂ (from human activities like burning fossil fuels) increases global temperatures, causing glacial melt. For example, the retreat of Himalayan glaciers (per studies like from NASA: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Glaciers) correlates with rising atmospheric CO₂. 2. Problems from Glacier Retreat: - Water Supply: Glaciers act as natural "water towers" (e.g., in the Andes, glaciers feed rivers like the Rio Santa; retreat reduces dry-season flow, affecting agriculture and drinking water for millions, per https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/nt0102). - Sea-Level Rise: Melt contributes to sea-level rise (e.g., Greenland’s glaciers; NASA data: https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/ shows glacier melt is a key factor), threatening coastal cities (e.g., Miami, Shanghai). - Ecosystem Disruption: Alpine species (e.g., snow leopards, mountain goats) lose habitat; glacial lakes (formed by retreating ice) can burst (GLOFs), flooding downstream (e.g., 2015 Nepal’s Imja Lake GLOF risk, per https://www.icimod.org/resource/glacial-lake-outburst-floods/). 3. Rebuttal Example: If someone claims "glacier retreat is natural" (e.g., citing past cycles), counter with: "While Earth has natural climate cycles, the rate of modern glacial retreat (e.g., 10x faster than pre-industrial, per https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379120304477) aligns with anthropogenic CO₂ rise. Past cycles (e.g., Milankovitch cycles) operated over millennia; today’s change is decades-long, driven by human CO₂ emissions (measured in ice cores: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/icecore/)."

Answer:

• Opinion on Link: Yes, rising atmospheric CO₂ (from human activities) drives global warming, accelerating glacier retreat (supported by NASA/IPCC data).
• Problems from Retreat: Reduced freshwater supply (Andes/Rio Santa), sea - level rise (Greenland), ecosystem collapse (alpine species), and glacial lake outburst floods (Nepal’s Imja Lake).
• Rebuttal Example: Against "natural cycle" claims: Modern retreat rate (10x pre - industrial, per sciencedirect.com) and CO₂ rise (unprecedented in ice core records, ncdc.noaa.gov) show human - caused CO₂ is the primary driver.

(Note: URLs provided are examples of outside sources for support.)