The Bleeding Glacier of Antarctica: Educational Version

By Jeannie Meekins

McMurdo Dry Valleys, in Antarctica, is one of the world’s cruelest deserts. You may think that a desert is a hot, dry place, full of sand. Science defines a desert as a place that has less than 10 inches (254 millimetres) of rainfall per year. Antarctica has none.
Even if the snow that falls on the ice sheets melted, it would only result in about two inches (five millimetres) of water per year.
Wind blows cold air down off the ice sheets and through the valleys at speeds up to 200 miles (320 kilometres) per hour. These winds are called katabatic winds. They suck all the moisture out of the air. Snow and ice evaporates before it can ever settle on the ground. McMurdo Dry Valleys remain ice free in a continent covered by ice sheets and glaciers.
In the Dry Valleys are a number of ice covered lakes. Some are saltwater. Some are freshwater. Each is different in its composition. Glaciers border the valleys. It is here, in Taylor Valley, that one of the strangest features on Earth has been discovered – a bleeding glacier.

Find out about this strange, natural phenomenon and what causes it.
Ages 8 and up.

Educational versions have Common Core SS activities.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: LearningIsland.com
• Release date: Oct 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301180523

Jeannie Meekins

Jeannie Meekins is an Australian writer who lives with her children and a couple of cats who think they own the computer. And if her dog could read, he’d be jealous, so it’s lucky that he can’t. Jeannie has also written over 10 books for children, many available through LearningIsland.com

Book preview

THE BLEEDING GLACIER

OF ANTARCTICA

A Strange but True Tale

By Jeannie Meekins

A LearningIsland.com

15 - Minute Book

We have used many sources to research these facts and they are accurate at time of publishing. The more we explore the wonders of our world, the more information we are discovering.

Editor: Jennifer Robinson

All pictures by National Science Foundation unless otherwise noted

Smashwords Edition

(c) Copyright 2013 Jeannie Meekins. All rights reserved.

Published by LearningIsland.com.

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The Bleeding Glacier of Antarctica / Jeannie Meekins

Summary: A brief look at the mysterious Bleeding Glacier of Antarctica.

1. Glacier. Juvenile Literature. 2. Antarctica. Juvenile Literature.

Words: 1580

Reading Level: 6.6

Ages 9 and up.

Table of Contents

Book

Activities

Answers

About the Author

THE BLEEDING GLACIER

OF ANTARCTICA

McMurdo Dry Valleys, in Antarctica, is one of the world’s cruelest deserts. You may think that a desert is a hot, dry place, full of sand. Science defines a desert as a place that has less than 10 inches (254 millimetres) of rainfall per year. Antarctica has none.

Even if the snow that falls on the ice sheets melted, it would only result in about two inches (five millimetres) of water per year.