This activity has been selected for inclusion in the CLEAN collection.
This activity has been extensively reviewed for inclusion in the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network's collection of educational resources. For information the process and the collection, see http://cleanet.org/clean/about/selected_by_CLEAN.
Initial Publication Date: November 22, 2010
Lab 4: Climate History & the Cryosphere
The lab activity described here was developed by Erin Bardar of TERC for the EarthLabs project.
Summary and Learning Objectives
In the first part of this lab, students will learn about land ice and the processes and timescales involved in glaciation. In Part B, they will learn about how scientists use ice cores to study climate history. In Part C, students will use an online interactive to explore how Earth's temperature, glacial ice, coastlines, and sea level have changed over the last 450,000 years.
After completing this investigation, students will be able to:
- describe the timescales associated with glacial and interglacial periods
- describe how we know what we know about historical climate and atmospheric conditions and events
- explain what ice cores are and how they record atmospheric and climate data
- describe impacts of climate change on land ice and the oceans
Open the Student Lab »
Experimental drilling on the Greenland Ice Cap in summer 2005. Image Credit: Reto Stöckli, NASA GSFC. Image Source NASA Earth Observatory
![[creative commons]](/images/creativecommons_16.png)
Provenance: Image source: NASA Earth Observatory (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Paleoclimatology_IceCores/)
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
Overview and Teaching Materials
Detailed overview of what students will do in each lab activity, how long it will take, and what materials are required to complete the lab.
In Part A: Students examine graphs of glacial ages in the last 1,000,000 years and 150,000 years to familiarize themselves with the timescale associated with glacial and interglacial periods. Students also learn about the Milankovic cycles, cyclical variations in three aspects of Earth's orbit that result in changes to the amount of solar energy that reaches Earth, and are therefore believed to be responsible for ice ages and interglacial periods.
Time estimate: 50-75 minutes
In Part B: Students watch a short video about how ice cores reveal information about past climate. They then use Excel to explore and analyze 160,000 years of ice core data from the Vostok Research Station in Antarctica (Student Ice Core Data (Excel 2007 (.xlsx) 18kB Aug6 18);
Teacher version with temperature calculation and sample plots
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Optional Extension: If time and interest permit, students can learn about how scientists use ice cores from mountain glaciers in the tropics to study past climate. They will read a short background essay and watch the NOVA scienceNow video segment Tropical Ice Cores Measure Climate about glaciologist Lonnie Thompson and his research of tropical mountain glaciers.
Time estimate: 50-100 minutes
In Part C: Students will use an online interactive to explore how Earth's temperature, glacial ice, coastlines, and sea level have changed over the last 450,000 years. NOTE: Student computers will need to have an up to date version of Flash installed in order to run this interactive.
Time estimate: 25-50 minutes
Printable Materials
Download and print files needed for each lab activity, including images, data tables, and Stop and Think questions.
Right-click (Win) or control-click (Mac) the linked text below and choose
File > Save As... to save files to your computer.
- (Optional) Background Essay: Tropical Ice Cores Measure Climate (Acrobat (PDF) 46kB Jul4 11)
- Stop and Think Questions (
PDF
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Word
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Suggested Answers
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Teaching Notes and Tips
General recommendations for classroom implementation as well as guidelines and facilitation tips for leading class discussions.
General Recommendations:
- Read through the lab and teacher resources BEFORE implementing with your students.
- Print out any paper-based materials before starting the lab.
- Have students keep a journal or notebook to record all of their notes, questions, and findings.
In Part A: Graphs can be difficult for students to understand, especially graphs that go back in time from left to right. You might want to spend some time helping students wrap their minds around the glacial age graphs and what they mean. If students are struggling, consider printing the graphs on an overhead transparency and "flipping it over" so that time increases from left to right.
If students need extra support for understanding the Milankovitch cycles, direct them to one or more of the resources in the Content Extensions section below.
In Part B: Before doing this activity with your students, it is recommended that you go through it yourself to familiarize yourself with the data and the procedures. If time permits, do the optional extension activity, Tropical Ice Cores, to show students another example of the cryosphere at lower latitudes. You might also consider assigning this section as homework if your students have access to computers outside of class.
Student Notebooks
Suggestions for how to use Student Notebooks for Lab 4.
- Have students write down the learning objectives for Lab 4.
- Have students record answers to all Stop and Think questions.
- Have students record answers to all Discussion questions.
- In Part B: Have students take notes and write down any questions they have as they watch the ice core video.
- In Part C: Have students take notes and write down any questions they have as they step through the EarthSwings interactive.
- Have students write down any questions they still have about the content covered in this lab.
Assessment
There are several options for assessment of student understanding of material introduced in this lab. Choose from the following list, or create your own assessments.
Assessment Options:
- Assess student understanding of topics addressed in this investigation by grading their written responses to the Stop and Think questions or by using Stop and Think questions as part of whole-class or small group discussions.
- Written Test for Lab 4
PDF
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Word
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Lab 4 Test key
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Science Standards
Lab 4 supports the following Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS):
Science and Engineering Practices
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
Disciplinary Core Ideas
HS.ESS2.A: Earth's Materials and Systems
HS.ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth's Surface Processes
HS.ESS2.D: Weather and Climate
HS.ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System
Cross-Cutting Concepts
1. Patterns
2. Cause and effect
4. Systems and system models
5. Energy and matter
7. Stability and change
Examples of how students engage with the standards:
Provenance: Content from NGSS (http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards)
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
Provenance: Content from NGSS (http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards)
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
Provenance: Content from NGSS (http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards)
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
Go to
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Additional Resources
Explore background information and content extensions related to Lab 4.
Background Information
- Past Variability Report (Acrobat (PDF) 14.1MB Jun14 11): summarizes the current knowledge of the past climate of the Arctic and discusses its relevance to key questions about present and future changes of relevance to policy makers and stakeholders.
Content Extension
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