Great idea, major inaccuracies

Upon first glance of this article, I was excited by the topic and to see the use of Google Earth for climate science investigations. This is something I’ve been interested in learning more a... See More

Upon first glance of this article, I was excited by the topic and to see the use of Google Earth for climate science investigations. This is something I’ve been interested in learning more about for some time, especially new and unique ways to bring this topic into the classroom. The article begins with a lengthy explanation, citing several sources, about the future of climate change to Earth. The ‘Day 1’ activity seems pretty straight-forward, though a little difficult to follow since there we a number of references to online data, not ready accessible while reading the article. My main concern with this article comes with some inaccuracies in the information provided. The authors seem to use the terms ‘sea ice’ and ‘ice sheet’ synonymously. This may seem like nit-picking over the correct usage of terms, however, sea ice and ice sheets are fundamentally different and their melting does not lead to the same consequences, as could be interpreted by this article. ·The ‘Arctic Ocean ice sheet’ is inaccurate, it does not exist. The ocean is covered with a layer of sea ice, which fluctuates in coverage area over time. In that context, the students are then measuring the sea ice extent (area) rather than the ice sheet. ·Ice sheet melting DOES lead to sea-level rise, however, what the students are measuring is sea ice, which DOES NOT lead to any increase in sea-level when it melts. The displacement from the ice has already occurred. Think of putting ice cubes into an empty glass, then filling it with water. It will never overflow. This is the same principle with sea ice. ·Another area of concern, which was not even mentioned in this article, is the fact that sea ice is frozen salt water, while an ice sheet, that of which cover Greenland and Antarctica, is freshwater. I’m a little surprised at the confusion seeing the list of authors and their backgrounds, along with their use of reputable sources of information such as the IPCC. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is a great resource for all things ICE.