Earth's Climate Connecting to Geological, Biological & Cultural Systems

Explain

We started with an interesting dichotomy:   If it wasn't for Global Cooling, the Beringia land bridge wouldn't have formed, making it impossible for the influx of new inhabitants to North America.

It it wasn't for Global Warming, large areas in North America could not have been inhabited because of the glacial ice sheets.


You win some.  You lose some.

The soil microbes ability in the Arctic to produce CO2 in large quantities is an amazing feat during the winter months.  Down to -7˚C! The video also reminded me of the old adage about the teachers in the bush leaving like flocks of birds when summer came.  Scientists are just touching the proverbial iceberg of learning about the Arctic in the winter months. 

What confused me about the CO2 production by the microbes and climate change was the nagging question, are the microbes to blame?  What evidence was there that this is a natural occurrence and not an abnormality?

image from powells.com

My 8 year old son and I watched the Inuit observation video and he could not contain his excitement about a book he just read that followed a native family living in the Arctic.  The book Neeluk, follows the seasonal adventures of a young Inuit boy.  It takes place at the turn of the century, several years before the 1918 flu epidemic that killed so many.  Elementary teachers should take note. 

I have heard locally about the abundance of certain insects and spiders in Alaska the past few years.  Some mountain running buddies remarked how many spider webs they came across as they were cruising the alpine areas around Anchorage. The Yellowjackets were out of control around my house in Indian Valley the past two summers as well.  Climate change?

The formation of all of Earth's elements was a real eye opener for me.  The fusion video where the two scientists are filling up the periodic table of elements was an effective approach to learning where our first 92 elements came from. 


The interactive periodic table will be one of the first to go on my new Promethean white board!

Extending

For the past several years, I have introduced my Astronomy unit with the formation of the stars and their chemistry.  I have a lab that excites the kids (because they use Bunsen burners), about the elements and how the electromagnetic spectrum helps Astronomers study the stars.  The lab is a simple flame test using simple salt mixtures and the characteristic flame associated with each element.  The study of stars leads to fireworks, which leads to the elements.  It works out great.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_test

I will be using the Fusion TD video from now on to help introduce the periodic table and my unit in chemistry.  What a great visual. 

Check out the new element book and cards for your classroom.  (Sorry I just love books!)

Evaluate

As I mentioned before, the videos that explained the formation of the elements and the mircobes in the Arctic were useful and filled with science a middle-schooler could grasp. 

I had trouble with the carbon cycle diagram and explanation.  It was hard to read and interpret.  I find simple diagrams easier to read for middle-schoolers.  

Knowing that Genghis Khan's carbon is still out there and might be in the next steak you eat is a fun way to introduce nutrient cycles

Comments

I first visited Kenai Kathy's site and commended her on her great resources for a food web unit.  The game will come in handy along with my PLT curriculum.

Next I went to Tyler's site and found two great lessons through the links form Alaska Project Wild and Alaska Resource Forum. 

Finally, I went to Matthew's blog and came away thinking he and I have the same Alaska reading list!  I couldn't believe the contamination of the Canadian caribou herd from Uranium. 

Module VI Weather Connections

How are the Earth, atmosphere and cultures all connected?

Explain
The Arctic Haze segment really caught my eye.  Driving into Anchorage every morning I see this brown haze hanging over the Cook Inlet and Fire Island area.  The dust kicked up by the largest city in Alaska is really evident in the wintertime.  

Those on the North slope have been accumulating heavy metals for years.  It reminded me of the story of the Atomic Agency Commission and their quest to blast a harbor out with an atomic bomb along the coast of Northern Alaska.  The potential for radioactive material to enter the food chain from the lichen to the local people was frightening.  Check it out in the Firecracker Boys.   

 The interaction of the wind, temperature and pressure in our troposphere is an important part of our day out in Bristol Bay.  The sonar site I work at on the Nushagak River counts up to four of the five species of salmon going up to spawn.  Big winds bring the fish (along with high tides) into the bay and we more often than not, get slammed 24 hours later.  It seems we are always looking for which way the wind is blowing.  Not only for the fish passage but some of our tents leak! 


Extend
 My 8th grade class does little in the study of climate and weather, but I did take a very helpful online class offered through National Geographic's Jason Project.  The curriculum I took was Monster Storms and it contained a complete unit with curriculum, interactive labs and online games.  We looked at how a monster storm, i.e. hurricanes and tornadoes form and the science and researchers behind it.


I am also using their geology unit Tectonic Fury to supplement my own curriculum for earthquakes, volcanoes and plate tectonics.

Another resource all Alaskan teachers should have is the book The Climate of Alaska. This resource is filled with climate information from Alaska's temperature and humidity to the climate of selected towns across Alaska.  


The authors discuss the difference between climate and weather and the controlling factors that make Alaska's climate.  Fun Facts abound for the curious throughout the volume.  One in particular describes the density of humid air with that of dry air.  I know, I thought it the other way around?!


The book also looks at growing seasons around the state and I thought of a connection with the local inhabitants.  In the Interior, the growing season is around 100 days but along Lake Minchumina, the season is extended due to the lake's maritime influence.   

Another section looks at the effects wind has on humans and the environment.  Did you know there have been four reported cases where a tornado touched down in Alaska?  From above the Arctic Circle to areas around Anchorage and Cook Inlet.

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF19/1977.html

Pressure and its importance to climate in Alaska is another area where this book relates to our module this week.  The "semi-permanent" low pressure area called the Aleutian Low sits off the Aleutian Islands and is the driving force for most of the storms that affect Alaska's western and southern coasts.  I tried to find it on our Google Earth search but its occurrence is mostly in winter.

Image from Google Earth

 
Evaluate 

The Discovery video  and graphics were wonderful this week.  My understanding of weather systems was lacking, (in particular pressure zones and the formation of the Gulf Stream) and those videos really helped in my understanding of this weeks module.

photo by author

Some fun ways to explore pressure in the classroom is to have a smaller student jump into a very large garbage bag and have them hold the edges tightly around their necks.  I start my trusty shop vac and hand the nozzle to the student.  He or she then grasps the end and sticks it partway down the opening around their neck.  I turn it on and "take" all of the surrounding air from the bag.  The student is now vacuum packed and they can feel the surrounding air pressing on them from the classroom.

The vertical structure of the atmosphere would make a great flip-book using Dinah Zyke's graphic organizers and lessons.

Labs with probes is a great way for students to check out the phases of matter. I use the Vernier probes and their middle school lab manual is filled with  labs already to go!  Software is free too.

Comments 

I found Sabrina's pic from the Kodiak Island tsunami to be frightening!  I will definitely use some in my earthquake unit. 

Alison has a really nice site and it is easy to read.  We both find the apathy of our students to be a little disheartening at times

Cheryl has a great diagram of a guyot.  Check it out.  Way cool.

Module V The Ocean, The Science, and Our Connection

The Learning
The science behind the Gulf Stream was very interesting.  I couldn't believe the connections to the convection currents occurring in the athenosphere and the convection cells in our atmosphere.  I have been following the chemical changes in the ocean for several years and found the salinity changes to be a big part of my own curriculum when it comes to density and freezing and boiling points.  One of the first labs we do is look at how and why a solute can lower a solution's melting point and why the DOT is salting our roads.  Its an eye opener for the kids:  "But I thought the salt melts the ice?"  "Doesn't the salt give the sidewalks some traction so we don't slip?"

Google Earth

Here is my Google Earth image of the Gulf Stream and the continental shelf off the East coast.  How similar they appear!

Google Earth

www.eathmagazine.org

I found several great articles in my favorite magazine Earth-(formally known as Geotimes).  One article in particular follows the interview of geochemist Wally Broecker who discovered the connection between the massive systems of currents that move large amounts of heat and salt around the planet. 
For the teacher, it shows an insiders take on doing good science, how facts come together and how hypotheses are formed and tested.

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com

I had taken a class with some colleagues awhile back that included some of the new research going on under the sea with submersibles.  I found some of the pictures to be fantastic and one topic that might relate to our Module this week.  There are huge salt lakes under the Gulf of Mexico that blow your mind when you see the video.  I could not find the original video but found some websites that talk about the natural history.


The Connections
One connection to the people that inhabit those coastal habitats and the changing ocean is the biochemical change I have been following closely for 3-4 years.  Ocean Acidification can have huge effects on those people that rely on ocean resources especially shellfish.  My students have seen the connection with their everyday uses of acids and bases.  Our chemistry unit looks at acids and bases, especially on how to measure and identify.  The above website really give the layperson a good resource on how acids can be damaging to the oceans with increased carbon dioxide production.  Imagine clams, oysters,and other shell fish not being able to  make their protective shells and the damage to those that rely on this resource:  Sea mammals to humans.

The module really makes connections between the sun, Earth, its winds, oceans, and the interconnections of a truly living and breathing entity.   Is Gaia alive and well in the 21st century?


The Resources
Google Earth continually amazes me and I am glad for the hands on assignments that "make" me explore the program.  I think the add content option to be a great addition to my classroom.  The real-time earthquakes KML files are an excellent teaching tool.

The YouTube videos were another matter.  ASD has given teachers a little more leeway to access the content from the classroom, but the passwords and hoops you must go through really make it not an easy resource to use. 

The discovery videos on the other hand are easy to use, download and manipulate for archiving for next year's lessons. 


 Some Comments
Cruised to Eric's blog and found a great creation myth shared by both the Maori  and Hawaiians.
Next I went to Janet's great site and found links to ocean alive I would love to use in my classroom.
More great resources from Cheryl and the Lake ice studies happening here in Alaska!


Had to share this pic of the Comet flyby.  Cool stuff happening every!

NASA's Deep Impact (EPOXI) probe flew past Comet Hartley 2 only 435 miles from the comet's active nucleus