Unit 8: Thermohaline Circulation part of Modeling Earth Systems
David Bice, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
In this module, students first review some background material on density-driven deep currents in the oceans, and then create a STELLA model of the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean. The model ...

Unit 9: Carbon Cycle and Ocean Chemistry part of Modeling Earth Systems
David Bice, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
In this module, students first review some background material on the terrestrial, marine, and anthropogenic processes involved in the storage and transfer of carbon in the Earth system. The students then build a ...

Unit 3: Simple Climate Models part of Modeling Earth Systems
Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College
Students will explore Earth's radiation budget using several versions of a simple climate model often referred to as a "layer model." Earth receives energy from the sun, some of which is reflected ...

Unit 5: Growth and Decay of Ice Sheets part of Modeling Earth Systems
David Bice, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Large continental ice sheets, such as the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the last glaciation, as well as Antarctica and Greenland of today, are some of the most important features of the global climate system — they ...

Unit 2: Modeling Population part of Modeling Earth Systems
Kirsten Menking, Vassar College; David Bice, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
In this unit, students create three different STELLA models to explore a variety of concepts related to population growth and resource use. The first model simulates the classic lynx-snowshoe hare predator-prey ...

Unit 1: Introduction to Modeling Dynamic Systems part of Modeling Earth Systems
Kirsten Menking, Vassar College; Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College; David Bice, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
In this unit we introduce students to the reasons why Earth and environmental scientists use numerical modeling as a tool for understanding complex systems and then teach them how to use the STELLA software that ...

Unit 4: Daisyworld part of Modeling Earth Systems
Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College
Students explore Daisyworld, a model of a self-regulating system incorporating positive and negative feedbacks. Daisyworld is a planet on which black and white daisies are the only things growing. The model ...

Unit 1: Use of Lead in the Environment and Health Impacts on Human Populations part of Lead in the Environment
Katrina Korfmacher (University of Rochester), Richard Gragg (Florida A&M University), Martha Richmond (Suffolk University), and Caryl Waggett (Allegheny College)
In Unit 1, students engage in discussion of the historical use and resulting distribution of lead throughout the human environment. Activity 1.1 introduces the systems dynamics linking geology, human use, and human ...

Rethinking Sustainability Through the Humanities: Multi-Sensory Experience and Environmental Encounter Beyond the Classroom part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Jennifer Atkinson, University of Washington-Bothell Campus
This assignment pairs studies in environmental humanities with outdoor activity. Students complete a "field excursion" (gardening, hiking, environmental restoration) and reflect on sensory experiences involved in that activity to critique rationalist traditions/Cartesian legacies in their education more broadly.

Justice, Power, and Activism: What the Goldman Environmental Prize Winners Teach Us About Resilience and Democracy part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Jason Lambacher, University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
This activity is a set of student-centered exercises that enable students to learn about the individual stories of Goldman environmental prize winners, the activism and organizing that grounds their work, and the underlying political and social contexts from which their struggles emerge. The lesson inspires critical reflection about justice, power, and democracy in green politics, and encourages ways to make personal connections to activism and environmental work.