Module 9

Essential Question:How are climate, terrestrial ice and Alaskan indigenous cultures all connected?

Explain: Scientists have discovered a wealth of knowledge by studying the layers we find in nature today . Whether it be layers of glacial ice, mud from the bottom of a lake or the layers(rings) of a tree, nature has archived thousands of years of climate history for us to interpret. When examining the major changes in climate that have taken place for the last several thousand years we notice that one degree Fahrenheit increase (more in the arctic climates) that has taken place in the 20th Century has proven to be extremely significant in terms of rapidly speeding the melting of the earths cryosphere over the past 1,000 years. Changes that we use to think took thousands of years are taking place in our life times and before our very eyes. Even though this has caught the attention of environmental scientists, indigenous cultures all across the arctic are noticing changes that are causing them to alter their lifestyles. these changes include:

1. Shorter winters and longer summers

2. Disappearing lakes due to melting permafrost

Causing significant increases in methane. A greenhouse gas 23x stronger than carbon dioxide

3. Changing weather patterns

4. Changing animal migrations

5. Changes in plant and animals that are replacing traditional ones

Just to name a few!

Extend:

Extreme Ice Great time elapsed photography as well as additional photos and videos I found on this site

Documenting Glacial Change Survey Awesome TD resource showing before and after photos showing glacial recession and forest succession.

USGS, Introduction to Glaciers Very use full information on all of the USGS links in this module. These sites would make great pre-lesson discussion questions to spark student interest.

Evaluate: This was a long module!! However it did provide more resources that I can use in my own lessons. I felt that a few of the digital resources were redundant and could be eliminated without diminishing the lesson, thus shortening the lesson.

Module 7

Essential Question: How is Earth's climate connected to its geological, biological and cultural systems?

Explain: Earths Climate is dictated by the geological and biological processes that have been taking place for last 4.5 billion years. It is a project in the making. Early in earths history the climate of earth was very inhospitable by our standards, cold and lifeless. But as biological processes started to create greenhouse gases, Earth became the water planet and it gradually warmed to a point that would support life. As life started to flourish around 550 million years ago the increase in earths biodiversity began to explode. Around 300 million years ago during the Carboniferous Period Earths biodiversity began laying down vast quantities of plant life that would later fossilize into today's fossil fuels.

So lets get one thing straight here. The natural greenhouse effect on our climate has been beneficial and earth has always been able to manage its climate fluctuations. But as stated in the TD resource ,Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect, the last 2 centuries have a seen a 25 percent increase in carbon dioxide emissions. This 25 percent increase due to mans industrialization has caused an unnatural balance in our climate and has left scientists guessing what the result will be.

Culturally speaking climate has been linked to some of the biggest events in mans short history. From the crossing of the Bering sea land bridge to man's penetration of the ice free corridors of North America, climate was the limiting factor in early civilizations as well as their impetus. And now it is mans self induced carbon dioxide footprint on the earth that is triggering , perhaps, our next biggest event worth taking note of. Since the introduction of life, planet earth has done a fairly good job of budgeting its energy savings and expenditure's. But mans recent industrialization of the last 150 years has exploited earths energy savings (fossil fuels) and expedited it's energy expenditure's ( burning fossil fuels).

Extend:

Energy Flow in the Coral Reef Ecosystem

This TD resource was great from a biological perspective. It was a great clip to be used in Biology class that shows the flow of energy through a coral reef ecosystem.

Evidence for the Big Bang

The Nova series is fantastic! I showed this series to my physical science students last year and I must admit I learned a lot. This series is packed full of the latest cosmic research. Although I must admit I am a Biology guy, but the Origins series host Neil deGrasse Tyson is fascinating to listen to.A ConversationWith Neil deGrasse Tyson

Evaluate: I truly enjoyed this module. Being a Biology guy I liked the biological undertone that it had. Although there has been material thought the class that can be worked into a biology lesson, I felt this module provided more useful info for a biology class. I don't have my final project all planned out yet, but I am definitely getting some good ideas.

Module 6

Essential Question: How are the Earth, atmosphere and cultures all connected?

Explain: With out the atmosphere, the earth would not exist as we know it. It is as responsible for our existence here as any other piece of the the puzzle that makes up our biosphere. Because of the prescribed nature of our atmosphere we are able to study and predict its behavior. In the TD Resource Alaska Native Pilots, Alaska natives talk about the way weather dictates life in western Alaska and how nature gives us many signs of changing weather patterns. The practice of observing the atmospheres signs has ben handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years and only until recently has ben augmented through the technology of western scientists. Technology has given rise to a deeper understanding of our atmosphere in ways that ancient civilizations , mariners, and explorers could have only dreamed about. Now at the click of a button , even villagers in the most remote villages of Alaska can access the latest, up to the minute, satellite photos of weather across their region, complements of NOAA.

According to an article by the Alaska Sea Grant on salmon decline, the history of salmon runs for the last several thousands of years has been linked to climate changes. Salmon abundance that occurred around 1200 AD are suspected to be the result of glacial advance as opposed to recent declines that we are experiencing in this time of glacial recession. However you slice it, small changes in our climate have dramatic effects on world wide subsistence cultures as well as global economics.

Extend:

NASA National Space Science Data Center Image Resources
I have accessed NASA before for images. However this link provided me with additional links that I was not aware of. I spent a lot of time on this site and will be spending more time on it the next time I teach an earth science class.

Warm Fronts and Cold Fronts

The TD resources such as the one above are providing wonderful, animated graphics that greatly enhance my classroom notes and discussions.



Evaluate: Although much of the material in this module was review for me, A few of the resources were packed full of information. I am sure that I will find something new that I can use in class each time i visit the NASA web site.

Module 5: Ocean Systems

Essential Question: How are climate, cultures and oceans all connected?


Explain: Our climate has been experiencing a warming trend since the 1970's. This brings about many changes for Alaskans. The closer an individual is tied to the sea the greater the changes one is experiencing during this time. Due to waters high specific heat capacity, the ecosystems in the the ocean have experienced major changes due to a 3 degree increase in temperature. This increase in temperature is suspected to be the culprit of many observable changes to individuals living along Alaska's coast lines. As water temperature increases, scientists have noticed a decrease in small fish populations. These small fish populations serve as the base of the marine food chain and it has had a serious ripple effect on many marine animal populations. Everything from fish to birds to marine mammals to man has been impacted by this small temperature increase. A few studies that have been conducted recently include: Lower sea bird numbers in the North Pacific, low steller sea lion numbers, low pollack numbers, lower crab numbers, low salmon returns for upper Cook Inlet and increased polar bear/man interactions to a loss of sea ice. Although this sounds like a lot, this only a few of the changes scientists and coastal communities have been observing over the past 40 years. Although climate is not solely responsible for these changes we must not overlook the need for management of these resources. As competition among user group's increases. Dolly Garza's audio clip reminds us of the need to manage our resources as global climate changes effect our resources as well as increased competition between user groups.

Thermocline and halocline understanding are crucial to the science of global warming. It is tricky at best for scientists to attempt to predict what affect changes in ocean circulation will bring over the next 100 years. But it is important for scientists to gather as much data now as possible in order to understand the global effect that all communities across the globe, not just coastal, will experience from the changes in thermohaline circulation. Although some models predict a warming trend others predict a short warming trend followed by a major cooling trend. Moore data now will lead to better understanding in the future.









Extend:





The Goggle Earth shot above,of the Kenai River, was intended to show the increased fresh water run off and sedimentation that is a direct result of the increased glacier melting of the Harding ice field in the Kenai mountains. However, I did not get my desired effect due to a photographic date in May when glacier melting is not at it's maximum.

In the TD resource Global View of the Seasons, the satellite imagery can also be used to show how the seasonal changes bring about other changes in Alaskan waters that correspond to the seasons, such as summer time plankton blooms in the Bering Sea.

The Ben Franklin You Tube clip on the gulf stream provided a great historical aspect to the science of ocean currents and could be a very powerful tool for engaging students with an interest in history rather than science.

Evaluate:

As you can see last week I learned how to attach resources to my blog. This week I have learned how to link web sites to my blog. I liked the way this was done in the weekly modules and I am glad I figured out how to do it. I can see this being another valuable tool in helping me create more dynamic lessons for my students.