Climate and the Cryosphere: Lab Overviews
1. Getting to Know the Cryosphere
In Part A, students learn about the components of the cryosphere and where they can be found on Earth. In Part B, they are introduced to some of the ways climate and the cryosphere influence one another, as well as how and why scientists study changes in our planet's snow and ice. In Part C, students learn about some of the ways that humans, plants, and animals are connected to and affected by the cryosphere.
Time Estimate: 50 minutes
Technology: Internet browser
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In Part A of this activity, students learn about how sea ice forms and influences ocean currents around the globe. In Part B, they explore how sea ice thickness changes over time. Finally, in Part C, students use NSIDC sea ice index data to explore how sea ice extent changes over the course of a year.
Time Estimate: 50 minutes
Technology: Internet browser, Excel
3. Land Ice
In the first part of this lab, students will learn about how glaciers form and the different processes that contribute to glacial mass balance by using an online interactive to explore how glaciers provide scientists with evidence for climate change. In Part B, they will learn about how & why glaciers move. In Part C, students will make a model of a glacier out of a putty-like substance called gak and conduct a hands-on experiment to explore glacial movement.
Time Estimate: 50 minutes
Technology: None
4. Climate History & the Cryosphere
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.
Time Estimate: 50 minutes
Technology: Internet browser, Excel
In this lab, students will explore evidence of recent change in the cryosphere. In Part A, they will use an online interactive to visually explore how six Alaskan glaciers have changed over the last hundred years. They will also use image processing software to measure how much area a glacier in the Himalayas has lost over time due to rising temperatures. In Part B, students will study recent trends in Arctic sea ice extent and volume. In Part C, they will explore the ice-albedo feedback effect and think about causal connections between climate and the cryosphere.
Time Estimate: 50 minutes
Technology: Internet browser, ImageJ
In this culminating activity, students will contemplate what the future might hold for climate and the cryosphere. In the first part of the lab, they will learn about what climate models predict Earth's climate will be like in the future. In Part B, they will consider potential changes in sea level that might be brought about by warming temperatures and melting ice.
Time Estimate: 50 minutes
Technology: Internet browser