The Big Melt

An iceberg the size of the state of Delaware is about to form off the coast of Antarctica. Adam Booth, a glacier scientist with Project MIDAS, has been anxiously keeping watch. Project MIDAS has been studying a growing crack in a giant ice shelf, called Larsen C, on the frozen continent. As DynaMath went to press, a large piece of ice from Larsen C was about to break off. When it does, it will become one of the largest icebergs ever recorded.

“Hopefully, the majority of Larsen C will still be there when the article prints!” says Booth.

Booth studies ice shelves, massive areas of floating ice attached to glaciers. Most ice shelves are found in Antarctica. They’re important because they keep glacial ice in place. 

With temperatures in the region rapidly changing, some ice shelves are in danger of breaking off—like Larsen C is right now (see map on page 12). Larsen’s C former neighbors Larsen A and B broke apart in 1995 and 2002, respectively.

But Larsen C’s crack-up appears to be more complicated. The ice shelf’s rift has been around since the 1960s. Scientists aren’t sure why the crack grew so rapidly over the last few years.

An iceberg the size of the state of Delaware is about to form. It will happen off the coast of Antarctica. Adam Booth is a glacier scientist with Project MIDAS. He has been anxiously keeping watch. Project MIDAS has been studying a growing crack in a giant ice shelf in Antarctica. It’s called Larsen C. As DynaMath went to press, a large piece of ice from Larsen C was about to break off. When it does, it will become one of the largest icebergs ever recorded.

“Hopefully, the majority of Larsen C will still be there when the article prints!” says Booth.

Booth studies ice shelves. Those are massive areas of floating ice attached to glaciers. Most ice shelves are found in Antarctica. They’re important. That’s because they keep glacial ice in place.

Temperatures in the region rapidly changing. This means some ice shelves are in danger. They could break off. Larsen C is a current example. (see map on page 12). Larsen’s C former neighbors Larsen A and B broke apart in 1995 and 2002, respectively.

But Larsen C’s crack-up appears to be more complicated. The crack in the ice shelf has been around since the 1960s. The crack grew rapidly over the last few years. Scientists aren’t sure why.

Ask Booth what Antarctica looks like, and he’ll tell you: “It’s just flat and white as far as you can see. It’s very, very remote.”

Antarctica is the world’s coldest, iciest continent. It contains three-fourths of Earth’s freshwater ice locked in large glaciers. The ice spans an area of 14 million square kilometers—more than the size of the United States and Mexico combined. 

But in Antarctica and other places, ice is melting at an alarming rate. Scientists want to understand why.

Booth and other Project MIDAS scientists visited Antarctica in November 2015. They camped in a new place every few days. Everything was frozen. Every night, Booth tucked his toothpaste into his sleeping bag so his body heat could keep the tube from freezing. 

About Antarctica, Booth will tell you: “It’s just flat and white as far as you can see. It’s very, very remote.”

Antarctica is the world’s coldest, iciest continent. It contains three-fourths of Earth’s freshwater ice. It’s locked in large glaciers. The ice spans an area of 14 million square kilometers. That’s more than the size of the United States and Mexico combined.

But in Antarctica and other places, ice is melting at an alarming rate. Scientists want to understand why.

Booth and other Project MIDAS scientists visited Antarctica in November 2015. They camped in a new place every few days. Everything was frozen. Every night, Booth tucked his toothpaste into his sleeping bag. That was so his body heat could keep the tube from freezing. 

In addition to radar, Booth has a fiery tool in his toolkit—explosives! The team drills a hole into the ice and then loads dynamite inside. When the dynamite explodes, Booth measures the seismic activity. That’s the vibrations the ground makes following an earthquake or explosion. 

This information can help scientists learn more about ice melt on large glaciers. This is helpful in places like Greenland, where meltwater flows into roaring vertical waterfalls within glaciers. 

In 2010, Booth camped out on a glacier in Greenland to study the ice. “It was treacherous,” he says. “One wrong step and you could end up falling into a hidden crack in the ice.” 

Despite the risks, Booth and his colleagues believe this research is necessary, and they’re proud of it. They hope their findings will help inspire people to protect the environment. It’s everyone’s responsibility, Booth says.

Booth doesn’t just use radar. He also uses fiery explosives! The team drills a hole into the ice. Then they load dynamite inside. When the dynamite explodes, Booth measures the seismic activity. That is the vibrations the ground makes following an earthquake or explosion.

This information can help scientists learn more about ice melt on large glaciers. This is helpful in places like Greenland. There, meltwater flows into roaring vertical waterfalls within glaciers.

In 2010, Booth camped out on a glacier in Greenland to study the ice. “It was treacherous,” he says. “One wrong step and you could end up falling into a hidden crack in the ice.”

Despite the risks, Booth and his colleagues believe this research is necessary. And they’re proud of it. They hope their findings will help inspire people to protect the environment. It’s everyone’s responsibility, Booth says. 

Booth and his team traveled on snowmobiles when they studied the Antarctic ice. On a stormy day, they traveled 48 kilometers in 6 hours. Which model shows how many kilometers they traveled each hour?

Booth and his team traveled on snowmobiles when they studied the Antarctic ice. On a stormy day, they traveled 48 kilometers in 6 hours. Which model shows how many kilometers they traveled each hour?

Express your answer from part A as a division equation.

Express your answer from part A as a division equation.

On another day, the scientists traveled 70 kilometers in 7 hours. About how far did they go each hour? Write and solve a division equation.

On another day, the scientists traveled 70 kilometers in 7 hours. About how far did they go each hour? Write and solve a division equation.

Rewrite your answer from part A as a multiplication equation.

Rewrite your answer from part A as a multiplication equation.

In some areas, the Larsen C Ice Shelf is 600 meters thick. In other areas, it’s as little as half as thick. What is Larsen C’s minimum thickness? Write and solve an equation.

In some areas, the Larsen C Ice Shelf is 600 meters thick. In other areas, it’s as little as half as thick. What is Larsen C’s minimum thickness? Write and solve an equation.

Another Antarctic ice shelf, the West Ice Shelf, is about one-third the area of Larsen C. What is the area of the West Ice Shelf?

Another Antarctic ice shelf, the West Ice Shelf, is about one-third the area of Larsen C. What is the area of the West Ice Shelf?

The Ross Ice Shelf is Antarctica’s largest. Its area is 10 times larger than that of Larsen C. About how large is it?

The Ross Ice Shelf is Antarctica’s largest. Its area is 10 times larger than that of Larsen C. About how large is it?

Each piece of dynamite Booth used while working in Greenland weighed 0.25 kilograms. The scientists took 72 pieces with them for their trip. What was the total weight of dynamite the scientists took?

Each piece of dynamite Booth used while working in Greenland weighed 0.25 kilograms. The scientists took 72 pieces with them for their trip. What was the total weight of dynamite the scientists took?