Antarctic ice sheet

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/antarctic-ice-sheet

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the location?Antarctica, covering approximately 98% of the continent
2. What is the major components?East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS)
3. How big is the Antarctic Ice Sheet?It covers roughly 14 million square kilometers, about 90% of Earth's ice and 70% of its fresh water.
4. Why is the Antarctic Ice Sheet important for the planet?It reflects sunlight, helping keep the Earth cool, and its melting can raise sea levels and affect ocean currents.

Albedo: The reflectivity of a surface; higher albedo means more light is reflected.
Paleoclimate: The study of past climates, often using natural archives like ice cores.
Ice Shelf: A thick, floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface.
Mass Balance: The difference between the amount of snow accumulating on an ice sheet and the amount of ice lost through melting and calving.