Module 1: Exploring the Glacier Basin System
Alia Khan
Twila Moon
Spruce Schoenemann
Summary
This Module consists of five Units, walking students through an overview of the glacier basin system, exploring glacier mass balance, albedo, and surface melt, and looking inside and underneath the glacier. The Units also cover the transition from the glacier margin to land and system responses to climate change.
Strengths of the Module
- Students use authentic scientific data to explore a Greenland glacier system. Students dive into questions about timescales, seasonal and year-to-year change, and interconnected Earth system element.
- Students develop a sense of place via interactive environments, field images, maps, geospatial data, and videos.
- Interactive and diverse activities support students in developing stronger inquiry-based learning skills and challenge students to ask and investigate questions about climate, ice, and the landscapes of our planet.
- Students gain geospatial analysis skills through spatial and temporal exercises that utilize Greenland specific datasets in QGIS
A great fit for courses in
- Polar science
- Earth science
- Environmental science
- Climate change
- Quaternary geology
Table of Contents: Instructor Materials
- Overview of the Exploring the Glacier Basin System Module
Unit 1Overview of the Glacier Basin SystemUnit 2Glacier Mass Balance, Albedo, and Surface MeltUnit 3A Look Inside and Underneath the GlacierUnit 4Transition from Glacier Margin to LandUnit 5System Response to Climate Change- Student Materials