Meltwater pulse 1B
Okay kiddo, so imagine a big ice cube, like those you put in your lemonade in the summertime. This ice cube is really really big, it's actually as big as a continent called North America. Now imagine that this ice cube is sitting on top of another continent, sort of like when you put your ice cube on your plate, but way bigger. This other continent is called Antarctica.
Now, because the ice cube is so big and heavy, it is sort of squishing down on the continent underneath it. This is holding back the water that is surrounding the ice cube. It's kind of like when you squish your water bottle, the water inside has to go somewhere else because it can't all fit in the bottle anymore.
But one day, something happened. The ice cube started to melt really quickly, like when your popsicle starts to melt on a hot day. When this happened, tons and tons of water was released from the ice cube and it flowed out into the ocean. This water is called meltwater.
This is what meltwater pulse 1b is all about. It was a time around 14,000 years ago when a lot of the ice from the North American ice cube melted and released a huge amount of meltwater into the ocean. This caused the sea level to rise really quickly, almost like a big wave. It was like when you pour too much water in your bathtub and it starts to overflow.
This rise in sea level happened really fast, in just a few hundred years. This was really important for scientists because it tells us how quickly ice can melt and how it can impact the environment around it. It's like a big warning sign that tells us we need to take care of our planet so this doesn't happen again.
Now, because the ice cube is so big and heavy, it is sort of squishing down on the continent underneath it. This is holding back the water that is surrounding the ice cube. It's kind of like when you squish your water bottle, the water inside has to go somewhere else because it can't all fit in the bottle anymore.
But one day, something happened. The ice cube started to melt really quickly, like when your popsicle starts to melt on a hot day. When this happened, tons and tons of water was released from the ice cube and it flowed out into the ocean. This water is called meltwater.
This is what meltwater pulse 1b is all about. It was a time around 14,000 years ago when a lot of the ice from the North American ice cube melted and released a huge amount of meltwater into the ocean. This caused the sea level to rise really quickly, almost like a big wave. It was like when you pour too much water in your bathtub and it starts to overflow.
This rise in sea level happened really fast, in just a few hundred years. This was really important for scientists because it tells us how quickly ice can melt and how it can impact the environment around it. It's like a big warning sign that tells us we need to take care of our planet so this doesn't happen again.