earth science

World Glacier Monitoring Service

World Glacier Monitoring Service is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand World Glacier Monitoring Service rather than just read about it. In short: The World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) was started in 1986, combining the two former services PSFG (Permanent Service on Fluctuations of Glaciers) and TTS/WGI (Temporal Technical Secretary/World Glacier Inventory). It is a service of the International Association of the Cryospheric Sciences of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IACS, IUGG) as well as of the World Data System of the International…

Key takeaways

World Glacier Monitoring Service belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect World Glacier Monitoring Service to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of World Glacier Monitoring Service from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) was started in 1986, combining the two former services PSFG (Permanent Service on Fluctuations of Glaciers) and TTS/WGI (Temporal Technical Secretary/World Glacier Inventory). It is a service of the International Association of the Cryospheric Sciences of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IACS, IUGG) as well as of the World Data System of the International Council for Science (WDS, ICSU) and works under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) The WGMS is based at a centre at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, and the Director of the Service is Michael Zemp. It is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme. WGMS "collects standardised observations on changes in mass, volume, area and length of glaciers with time (glacier fluctuations), as well as statistical information on the distribution of perennial surface ice in space (glacier inventories). Such glacier fluctuation and inventory data are high priority key variables in climate system monitoring; they form a basis for hydrological modelling with respect to possible effects of atmospheric warming, and provide fundamental information in glaciology, glacial geomorphology and quaternary geology. Such glacier fluctuation and inventory data are high priority key variables in climate system monitoring; they form a basis for hydrological modelling with respect to possible effects of atmospheric warming, and provide fundamental information in glaciology, glacial geomorphology and quaternary geology. The highest information density is found for the Alps and Scandinavia, where long and uninterrupted records are available" "In close collaboration with the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) initiative, the WGMS is in charge of the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers (GTN-G) within GTOS/GCOS. GTN-G aims at combining (a) in-situ observations with remotely sensed data, (b) process understanding with global coverage and (c) traditional measurements with new technologies by using an integrated and multi-level strategy"

Notes

External links World Glacier Monitoring Service Fluctuations of Glaciers VII, 1990-1995

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with World Glacier Monitoring Service

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what World Glacier Monitoring Service claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to World Glacier Monitoring Service before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about World Glacier Monitoring Service ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of World Glacier Monitoring Service

In research: World Glacier Monitoring Service appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses World Glacier Monitoring Service in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: World Glacier Monitoring Service is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1986 establishments, Climate change stubs, Environmental monitoring, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for World Glacier Monitoring Service outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study World Glacier Monitoring Service in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what World Glacier Monitoring Service means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain World Glacier Monitoring Service out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is World Glacier Monitoring Service in simple terms?

Why does World Glacier Monitoring Service matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study World Glacier Monitoring Service?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on World Glacier Monitoring Service.