1. EVENT PREPARATION COURSE
2013 DYNAMIC PLANET
EVENT PREPARATION COURSE

2. COURSE INSTRUCTOR: Mark A. Van Hecke 2013 Dynamic Planet
National Event Supervisor
CTT+ Certified Trainer
East China, Michigan
Welcome to the 2013 Dynamic Planet Event Preparation Course. I’m Mark Van Hecke, National Event Supervisor for Dynamic Planet and National Science Olympiad Earth-Space Science Event Chair.

3. SCIENCE OLYMPIAD EVENT TRAINING
Coach
Students
Event Rules

4. APPLICATION OF HORTON’S ONLINE LEARNING PARADIGM TO SCIENCE OLYMPIAD EVENT TRAINING
ABSORB DO
CONNECT

5. CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
A big part of success in Science Olympiad Earth-Space Science Events is the acquisition of a rich and diverse body of knowledge related to each of the events.
This is the ‘absorb’ of the Lesson.

6. EXCURSIONS
Excursions are ‘side trips’ that we take when we are on vacation….the same goes for new experiences that we can learn about in our education.

7. EXCURSIONS
Whenever you see this icon in the bottom right of your screen, just Click it to go to the Excursion
Excursions are the ‘Do’ component of the Lesson.

8. HOT LINKS
‘Hot Links’ refer to interesting websites that relate to what you are learning.
If you see the icon shown below in the bottom right of each slide, click it to access an interesting website that will help you to see or better understand what you are learning.

9. TEXTBOOK
You will also need to download the following textbook. Click the URL below to download it (PDF) at no cost.
When you see it on the bottom right side of a slide, Click this Icon to see which pages you will need to read and what you should learn from the assignment.

10. OTHER THINGS YOU WILL NEED
Certain Excursions and activities in a Lesson may require additional supplies.

11. SUMMARIES
From time to time, we’ll pause the lesson to reflect on what we should have learned up to that point.

12. SAMPLE EVENT QUESTIONS
At the end of the lesson, there will be several sample tournament questions to answer and/or problems to solve. This is the ‘connect’ of the lesson.

13. LESSON ONE: WHAT ARE GLACIERS?

14. What You’ll Learn in This Lesson:
1. How glaciers are formed
2. How to describe the structure of a glacier and identify a glacier’s zone of accumulation and zone of ablation.
3. How to determine the zones of accumulation and ablation of a glacier.
4. Explain the ‘movement’ of glaciers and determine the direction of glacial flow.

15. WHAT ARE GLACIERS? And why is it important to study them.

16. A glacier is a perennial mass of ice that originates on land, and has movement.

17. Glaciers store 75% of the Earth’s fresh water and cover about 15 million square kilometers-about 10% of our planet’s surface.

18. If all of this ice melted, sea levels would rise about 70 meters worldwide.

19. You could say that today’s glaciers are remnants from the last ‘Ice Age’, when ice covered 32% of the land and 30% of the oceans.

20. From time to time, the climate of the Earth changes allowing cooler temperatures to endure for longer periods throughout the year.

21. This allows glacial ice to expand into mid-latitude regions such as the Midwestern United States, New England and Northern Europe.

22. These periods of expanding glacial ice are known as Ice Ages.

23. Scientists know that over the past 750,000 years, there have been eight glacial ice age cycles.

24. These Ice ages were separated by warmer periods known as interglacial periods.

25. We are currently living in what is believed to be the end of an interglacial period.

26. Glaciers also influence the direction of atmospheric and oceanic currents that regulate global temperature.

27. Could the melting of glacial ice alter ocean and atmospheric currents creating a colder Earth?

28. Or will ever-increasing levels of CO2 turn Earth into another Venus where daily temperatures exceed 800°F on most days?

29. Glaciers also sculpt and shape the land leaving erosional and depositional landforms.

30. Here in Michigan, the Great lakes were created by glaciers during the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago.

31. Glaciers also created thousands of kettle lakes throughout Michigan and other Midwestern states

32. Glaciers are large masses of ice originating on land that form over an extended period of time.
Gradual changes in Earth’s orbit over many thousands of years result in long periods of glacial ice covering the Northern Hemisphere followed by periods of warmth and glacial retreat (interglacial).
Glaciers form many erosional and depositional landforms on the surface of the Earth.
Glaciers also influence Earth’s atmospheric and oceanic currents.
SUMMARY

33. HOW ARE GLACIERS FORMED?

34. A glacier will form in a given location if the amount of snowfall (accumulation) exceeds the rate of melting (ablation).

35. In glacial formation, this is termed as the zone of accumulation.

36. A glacier’s zone of accumulation is usually located at its highest elevation.

37. As snow accumulates over time in a given location, each new layer of snow pushes down on the layers of older snow beneath it.

38. As a result of this compression, older layers of snow are melted, crystallized and compacted together.

39. Snowflakes are changed to firn- an intermediate stage between snow and ice.

40. Individual ice crystals near the melting point become semiliquid and slick allowing them to glide over other crystal planes.

41. As this ice is pushed further and further down by more accumulating snow, the crystals interlock and begin to look and behave more like rock.

42. A glacier’s zone of melting (ablation) is usually located at its lowest elevation.

43. This is termed a glacier’s zone of ablation.

44. Formation of Glaciers
There are three criterion for a mass of ice to be a glacier:
They are made of ice
They form on land
They have movement

45. Glaciers are made of air, ice crystals, water and rock debris.

46. Each of these components will be addressed in our study of glaciers
Each of these components will be addressed in our study of glaciers. For now, let’s look at ice crystals- the building blocks of glaciers.

47. Ice Crystals
Ice crystals are weak and can be made to slip on planes parallel to the basal plane as shown.

48. As you will see this feature of ice crystals helps to explain their flow or ‘movement.’

49. Density Of Water
One of water’s most unusual characteristics is its density.

50. Unlike many substances, water in its solid state (ice) is less dense than it is in its liquid state.

51. This means that liquid water may exist beneath some glaciers and that glaciers may even float

52. GLACIERS FORM ON LAND
All glaciers form on land. Glaciers may extend into bodies of water such as lakes and oceans, but they do not originate in the water.

53. Movement Glaciers must have flow or movement.
In this next section, we’ll look at the mechanics of glacial ice movement
Glaciers must have flow or movement.

54. Glaciers form when the amount of snowfall exceeds the rate of melting
The zone of accumulation is where glacial snow accumulates. The area where glacial melting exceeds the rate of accumulation is known as the zone of ablation.
In the process of glaciation, snow is changed into a compacted form known as firn. Firn is then further compacted into a dense glacial ice.
Water in a solid state is less dense than water in a liquid state. This allows ice to float on top of water.
SUMMARY

55. THE MOVEMENT OF GLACIAL ICE

56. Glaciers move by the processes of internal deformation and basal sliding. Let’s take a look at how each of these processes work.

57. Each snowflake is a hexagonal molecule with each oxygen atom bonded to a hydrogen atom in a ring as shown

58. Glacial movement occurs when an accumulating mass of ice becomes too heavy to maintain its shape.

59. Rotation of grains
Melting and freezing
Internal slipping
The mass of glacial ice begins to move in a downslope direction over the top of this liquid, plasticized ice

60. Glacial calving occurs as glaciers move off to the sea and large chunks of ice break off from the main body of the glacier.

61. Icebergs are chunks of calved ice that have broken off of the main body of the glacier and float in the ocean.

62. The increased mass of a glacier at its zone of accumulation causes individual ice crystals near the bottom layer of the glacier to partially melt and become plastic allowing individual crystals to slide over one another across their basal planes
Glaciers that reach a shoreline may ‘calve’ or break away from the main body of the glacier. If they drift into the sea they are known as Icebergs.
SUMMARY

63. SAMPLE EVENT QUESTIONS

64. EXCURSION 1
Identify each of the layers shown in the process of glacial formation.
Diagram a Glacier Identify Zones of Accumulation and Ablation

65. EXCURSION 1
Move your mouse over the image shown of Malaspina Glacier until you locate the zone of accumulation.
Then do the same to locate the zone of ablation.

66. EXCURSION 2 The Density of Water
Check out this excellent activity provided by New York University. In it you will attempt to explain why ice floats on top of water and do experiments to determine why.  
The Density of Water

67. EXCURSION 3
USGS topographic maps will often be used to identify different glacial features.
Look at the map on the next slide and answer the question shown below it.
Determining the Direction of Glacial Ice Flow

68. What direction did the glaciers flow? How can you tell?
Back to Previous

69. TEXTBOOK 1 Read pages 6-22 of Glaciers, Climate and Landscape
Back to Previous

70. TEXTBOOK 2
According to Smith, how does glacial ice meet the criteria of being a mineral?
Back to Previous

71. TEXTBOOK 3 Describe the ‘movement’ of glacial ice (pages 20-22).
Back to Previous