Unit 5: System Response to Climate Change

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

Initial Publication Date: October 11, 2023

Summary

System Response to Climate Change

With a firm understanding of the components of a glacier basin system, the seasonal changes, and the influence on ice mass gain and loss, students in Unit 5 are challenged to consider the recent decades of change for the Kangerlussuaq glacier basin system. Scientific data on surface albedo (reflectivity) changes and weather are paired with online interactive data portals with information on ice sheet surface melt and surface elevation changes to assist students in constructing a system understanding of how and why this region has changed over the last 20 years.

Share your modifications and improvements to this activity through the Community Contribution Tool »

Learning Goals

Driving Question: How has the Kangerlussuaq system changed over the last 20 years and how is it expected to change over the coming decade?

Learning Goals: Understand the changes that occur over decadal timescales in a glacier basin system.

Context for Use

The content in Unit 5 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 2 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 fifth and final unit in the Exploring the Glacier Basin System module and expands to consider the multi-decadal changes in the glacier system.

Description and Teaching Materials

Part 1a:

Students break into groups of 4 and each student projects a single trend for the respective parameters (temperature, albedo, surface melt, and ice sheet elevation) over the next century, based on the modern rate of warming (1˚C/century). Then using the individual projections for each component, the group discusses how their projection influences the other group members' parameters, making self-consistent and physically realistic adjustments to account for feedback loops and rates of change. Discuss as a class the different scenarios that evolved and how complicated the interactions between each can become.

Video: NASA-Greenland Ice Sheet: Three Futures

Part 1b:

After watching the video: Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5)

Break students into groups to read Hofer et al., 2020 the Hofer et al., 2020, NatComms, Greenland CMIP6 Projections.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 2.7MB Sep9 22).

  • Group reading objective: Identify two new findings in the CMIP 6 results compared to CMIP 5.
  • Discuss the findings as a class. (Suggestion to have students write their findings on the board one group at a time, similar findings can be underlined, new findings can be listed.)

Part 2:

Generate a 'map of place' that shows differences between past and present glacier basin characteristics (albedo, temperature, ice surface elevation) over multiple years. Using both the timeseries and QGreenland maps, students develop a sense of how the region has changed over the past few decades.

  • Making a 'map of place'. Have students sketch out a cross-section view of the ice sheet, from the ice divide to the ice margin, with a section of ice-proximal land. Label key glacier basin characteristics, including the accumulation zone, ELA, ablation zone, and pro-glacial region. As students progress through the data analysis and exercises, have them indicate the direction and magnitude of changes in albedo, air temperature, surface radiation (SW and LW), and elevation change, along the different zones of the ices sheet, over the past few decades.

Introduce Surface Elevation Change data from NASA GRACE Satellites and Airborne Ice Penetrating Radar

The following datasets and links are useful for answering questions from the Exercise

What we learned:

  • Students understand how surface melt has varied over the multi-decadal record.
  • Students are able to articulate how and speculate on why surface albedo has changed over the multi-decadal record.

Teaching Notes and Tips

Unit 2 Teaching Notes and Tips provide information on getting started with QGIS and QGreenland.

This video PolarPASS Mod 1 Unit 5 teacher guide video.mp4 (MP4 Video 30.2MB Jan21 22) provide a short on-screen demonstration of how students can click the data layers in QGreenland to view albedo data and add a QGIS plugin to sample data layers using sample points from Unit 2.

Tips from Other Instructors

Part 1b: In covering the Hofer et al., 2020 CMIP5 vs CMIP6 paper, I used a Google Jamboard to help with the discussion. To start, we created a page of definitions, I posted the terms (e.g. GCM, RCM, SMB, CMIP, RCP, SSP, SLE, MAR) and students provided the definitions/explanations. On the next Jamboard slide, I put headers for motivation and method and students provided short statements for each. Final slide, students went to Jamboard link themselves and posted their two main findings of differences from CMIP5 vs CMIP6. [Note that Google Jamboard is slated to shut down on October 31, 2024]

General Circulation Models (context around "hot model" anomalies)-see article for centextualizing: https://www.science.org/content/article/use-too-hot-climate-models-exaggerates-impacts-global-warming


Assessment

Assessment: Mod 1 Unit 5 Assessment.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 1.4MB Aug18 22)

Annotated satellite imagery: Students demonstrate their understanding of the time scale on which the system changes

Reflection prompt: Students are able to describe differences between seasonal and multi-year changes to a glacier system.