In the news

Having decided upon glaciers as my topic of choice for this blog I have been keeping my eyes open for any relevant news articles or recent developments in the field. Luckily enough, I have found two such things!
Firstly would have to be the news that came through on the 19th of July about the Petermann Glacier in Greenland; an iceberg estimated to be the size of Manhattan broke away from the tongue of the glacier - a process known as calving. What makes this event so momentous is the fact that in 2010, another substantially big iceberg broke away from this same glacier. Scientists are worried by what has happened due to the size of the iceberg as well as its history. This news article shows how relevant this subject is and how  it is constantly being updated with more information and developments being made frequently as more research is carried out.
At the bottom of the news article I found a very interesting interactive tool in which you put in your postcode and you can see how big the newly formed iceberg is in relation to where you live. From a teaching perspective this could engage the children with the subject; being able to see how big the iceberg is in relation to where they live could interest them and could help to show them the actual scale of what they are studying.
If you are interested, here is the link to the article (the interactive map is at the bottom!): 'Iceberg breaks off from Greenland's Petermann Glacier'

The second update I have found was actually through my University - Aberystwyth. Dr. Bethan Davies a research associate has just set up a new website entitled 'Antarctic Glaciers'. It is a brilliant new website with lots of information on glaciers which is easily accessible and easy to read. As Dr.Davies continues to do research, the website is updated on new information that is found out and lots of interesting things discovered during her research period. Not only this but there is also an 'Ask a Scientist' section in which, if you have any questions you can ask them and get them directly answered by somebody in the know! I think it could make a valuable resource as it is easy to use and provides a lot of answers!
If you would like to look at the website you can do so here: http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/
They are also on twitter with their updates @Antarcticglacie


Enjoy!