Lesson 13:Louise Arner Boyd and Glaciers

Threats to Glaciers
Today, global warming, or the gradual heating of
Earth, is an important issue. Scientists think that the overall
temperature on Earth is increasing. The cause is likely
pollution, mainly from cars and factories, that has become
trapped in Earth’s atmosphere.
Global warming has a dangerous effect on glaciers.
As Earth heats up, glaciers melt. Huge amounts of melting ice
can cause sea levels to rise. In the future, low-lying islands and
coastal areas could be flooded or end up underwater.
Louise Boyd would not recognize much of Greenland and
the Arctic if she saw it today. The summer season is longer, and
glaciers are melting. As a result, glaciers are retreating from
where they were in the 1930s when Boyd explored them. Louise
Boyd added to our knowledge of glaciers. Now the challenge is
to help stop the threats to the Arctic she so loved.
The photo on the left was taken in 1941; the one on the right
in 2004. These two photos, taken from the same vantage point,
show the extensive melting of Muir Glacier in Alaska.
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