Fastest Glacier

NOVA scienceNOW

This video from a 2005 NOVA program features scientists who study the Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier in western Greenland. The glacier is shrinking and moving faster due to increased melting in recent years. The video includes footage of scientists in the field explaining methods and animation of ice sheet dynamics leading to faster glacier movement.

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Notes from our reviewers

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This glacier is changing rapidly. Seek updated information to share with the class. Updated science from this glacier is found in this NASA Earth Observatory page, [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=86436] Additional teaching materials are available through this resource: [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/ideas/3210_03_nsn.html] The melting of this glacier contributes to 4% of global sea level rise. Teachers can help students link to other stories and visualizations on current and predicted sea level rise.
NOVA scienceNOW correspondent Peter Standring accompanies scientists as they explore the complex dynamics of the massive Jakobshavn glacier in Greenland and try to unravel the mystery of its hurried melting. The location of the Jacobshavn Glacier is not shown in the video. This is a good movie that shows experts in the field, and includes field imagery as well as sketches of processes that are discussed in the video. Comments from expert scientist: The video provides quite a nice review of the basics of glacier motion in Greenland, and some good graphics to illustrate the main processes. I found the language to be clear and easily understandable. Video is out of date (2005) and newer information is needed to provide a complete picture.