Science Friday Kids' Connection^tm -- in association with Kidsnet
Kilimanjaro Ice Cores (October 4, 2002, One)

Program Summary | Guests | Related Links and Resources | For Discussion | Activities | Hear the program | About Kids Connection | SFKC Home

Program Summary

Guests

Related Links and Resources

African Ice Core Analysis Reveals Catastrophic Droughts, Shrinking Ice Fields and Civilization Shifts

America’s Best Science and Medicine Profile of Lonnie Thompson

Glacier Loss Seen as Clear Sign of Human Role in Global Warming

“Kilimanjaro’s Secret’s Revealed” by Françoise Gasse in the October 18, 2002, issue of Science.

“Science Friday” interview with Lonnie Thompson in February of 2001

For Discussion:

Lonnie Thompson says, “ice is a perfect preserver” and “one of the best recorders of climate changes.” Your students may understand how freezing something—say peas, for example—keeps it from spoiling and preserves it for a long time. But they may not understand how the ice found in glaciers can tell us about past climate trends.

1. What is a core sample and how is it obtained?
2. What are some of the things scientists can learn from studying glacier core samples like the ones taken from Mount Kilimanjaro?
3. Why is it important to learn about climate changes that took place thousands of years ago? What can historic climatic changes tell us about climate changes that many scientists believe are taking place today?
4. What is at stake if the Kilimanjaro glacier melts entirely as Dr. Thompson and others have forecasted? What would be lost?

Activities

Get to the core of the issue. To understand what ice core samples can teach us, students need to know what they are and how they are obtained. The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Ice Core Laboratory is a great place to start. Under the headings “Why study ice cores?” and “How is it done?” are slide shows that fill in the details. If you live in the Denver area, your class can even visit the lab and examine part of an ice core sample first hand.

Tools of the trade. Students can learn how climatologists ply their trade at the Climatologist’s Toolbox. In addition to learning how climatologists extract and study ice core samples, students can also learn how scientists take the Earth’s temperature, what studying lake sediments teaches, the stories tree rings tell, and how computers help paint the “big picture,” climatologically speaking.

Core calculations. The story of Mount Kilimanjaro’s ice cap involves some big numbers. Help students put the numbers into perspective by guiding them through some calculations. Here are just a few examples. If a core sample 50.9 meters (668 feet) long reaches 11,700 years into the past, how many years, on average, are represented by 1 foot (30.48cm) of ice? (about 17.5 years) How far down would you have to drill to reach the great drought that took place 4,000 years ago? (228.6 feet/69.7 m) How far to the point at which traces of humans are found 5,200 years ago? (297 feet/90.5 m) Researchers have found that the glacier atop Kilimanjaro measured 1 square mile (2.59 sq. km) in 2000. In 1912 it measured 4.8 square miles (12.43 sq. km). By what percentage has it shrunk since 1912? (79 percent)

Melting Matters. Kilimanjaro isn’t the only glacier that is melting. Many tropical glaciers are shrinking as are those in coastal areas. The melt releases large amounts of water into the oceans, raising the sea level. There are numerous consequences to this. Direct students to Sea Level: Ice Volume Changes, a Web page produced by the Ocean Drilling Distance Learning Program of Texas A & M University. There they will find activities and information about short- and long-term effects of melting glaciers and changing sea levels.

Climb to the Crown. Mount Kilimanjaro is an unmistakable landmark on the plains of Tanzania. Reaching 3.5 miles (5.6 km) high, it is made up of the remains of three dead volcanoes. Its snow-capped peak is famous and draws tourists from all over the world, many of whom want to climb the formidable slopes. Your students can take a virtual trek up the mountain at Crown of Africa. Along the way, they can explore the mountain’s climate, history, and geology.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

RealAudio archive courtesy of NPR Online. If nothing happens when you click the link, you may need to download a free player.