Unit 1: Overview of the Glacier Basin System

Alia Khan (Western Washington University)
Twila Moon (University of Colorado, Boulder)
Spruce Schoenemann (University of Montana Western)

Initial Publication Date: October 11, 2023

Summary

Overview of the Glacier Basin System

Unit 1 introduces students to the geography of the Arctic and Greenland, zooming from the Pan-Arctic scale down to the individual glacier basin scale. Several pre-class videos allow students to view and 'travel' to Greenland, and begin to visualize the weather and landscapes of this perhaps unfamiliar place. An interactive exercise challenges students to organize the local scenes, features, and images of the fjord-to-ice sheet landscape into a cohesive geographic map, placing each scene within the correct fjord-to-ice sheet zone. Through Unit 1 exercises, students begin to place themselves within the Greenland geography and understand the different environmental features they might discover and where they would find them as they travel from ocean edge to ice sheet edge.

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Learning Goals

Driving Question: What is the geography and what are the system components of a Greenland glacier basin system?

Learning Goals: 1) Develop a sense of place for the Kangerlussuaq glacier basin system. 2) Observe and recognize the multiple spatial scales of the Kangerlussuaq region

Context for Use

The content in Unit 1 is appropriate for upper-division geology, environmental sciences, meteorology, and other geoscience courses; junior/senior-level courses in which geomorphology, climatology, or glacial geology studies are building on prior introductory material. Unit 1 activities can easily be adapted to serve small- or large-enrollment classes and can be executed in lecture and lab settings as an interactive lecture activity, an in-class activity in which students work in small groups, a short lab exercise, or as part of a ~three-week investigation incorporating GIS and Interactive Environments to understand a glacier basin system and cryosphere using the entire Exploring the Glacier Basin System module. This is the first unit in the Exploring the Glacier Basin System module and introduces the location, geography, and components of a glacier basin system using southwest Greenland as a case study.

Description and Teaching Materials

Part 1:

Where is Greenland and what are the characteristics of the Arctic?

Prior to the class meeting, all students should watch these short videos as an introduction to gain a sense of glaciers, ice sheets, and Greenland.

Students answer the following questions related to the videos for homework:

  • Where is Greenland located?
  • How do you differentiate between an ice sheet and glaciers?
  • What are 3 defining features of the Arctic or Greenland?
  • Reflect on how your feelings about Greenland evolved from before watching these videos to after.

What we learned:

  • Where Greenland is located?
  • The defining features of the Arctic.
  • Basic Arctic geography.

Part 2:

Introduction to the Kangerlussuaq glacier basin system.

Students will observe the geography and landscape of the Kangerlussuaq glacier basin system in the GoogleEarth Project Tour. This is also an opportunity to get to know the region, placing the glacier basin into the context of nearby towns, ocean, larger ice sheet, and more.

Gallery Walk: Students will be given random images of components of the glacier system (Kangerlussuaq glacier basin system instructor powerpoint: Mod1 Unit1 Part2 Intro to Kanger GBS Images PolarPASS.pptx (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 197.6MB Feb1 22)). They will be asked to briefly research the components of the glacier system. The instructor will designate which side of the wall is the head of the glacier basin system and where the outlet to the fjord is located. From here, students will arrange their images into the broader glacier basin system. As they find their location within the glacier system, they will be asked to explain their component to others that are next to them or maybe they find others who have similar components and discuss the characteristics. Example of a Gallery Walk.

Digital Alternative: Using the same images above (Kangerlussuaq GBS, Instructor PPT), in small groups (4-5) students place the individual system components in the context of the whole system using GoogleSlides (GoogleSlide template with Head and Outlet designated).

360 Interactive Environments

Extra Resources: 360 Equivalent Images

What we learned:

  • What is special about Greenland (including an emotional connection)?
  • Where the Russell/Leverett Glaciers and Watson River region is and how it fits in the larger regional/Greenland landscape.
  • System components of the glacier basin from head to outlet, and into the river/ocean interface.

Teaching Notes and Tips

Teaching with 360-degree Interactive Environments

For those teaching with IEs within the modules, please follow the generalized instructional workflow and provide students with the accompanying worksheet available here: PolarPASS Instructor Guide and Student Worksheet 360IE.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 216kB Jan5 23). The workflow file also contains additional instructor resource slides that detail the various features within each scene of the IEs intended to assist instructors in creating a scavenger-hunt style activity for students (described in the workflow).

Tips from Other Instructors

  • If you have high latitude research experience, consider adding information about your polar experiences to the student introduction. Or bring in other content to introduce the high latitudes beyond Greenland. For example, Arctic geography, permafrost, sea ice, communities and Arctic people, or other information about why this is an important region to understand, or distinguishing between the Arctic and Antarctic.
  • Consider using the Gallery Walk as a class icebreaker and incorporate individual introductions.
  • Consider having students watch videos and submit Part 1 responses before class and open up class time for more discussion.

Assessment

Assessment: Mod 1 Unit 1 Assessment.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 2.7MB Nov22 23);

Mapping exercise: Students demonstrate an understanding of and familiarity with the glacier system by locating the Kangerlussuaq glacier and annotating a satellite image of the Kangerlussuaq glacier system with all the important components.

Written reflection: Students demonstrate an understanding of the glacier system and geography by answering a set of written prompts about the physical and human landscape.

References and Resources

GoogleEarth Projects: Create, open or copy a project