Educational Module: Arctic Happenings - Global Impacts of the Melting Greenland Ice Sheet and Melting Sea Ice, 1961-2015.

• Main Authors: Holzer, Margaret, Rennermalm, Asa, Sinclair, Peter, Fettweis, Xavier
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Arctic Data Center 2020
• Subjects: EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES > EDUCATION/OUTREACH > CURRICULUM SUPPORT > CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES; EARTH SCIENCE > CLIMATE INDICATORS > CRYOSPHERIC INDICATORS; EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS > GLACIER MASS BALANCE/ICE SHEET MASS BALANCE; EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS > ICE SHEETS; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Greenland; Climate change; glacier; Ice Sheet; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.18739/a2tm7216n; https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2TM7216N

In the Arctic region, global climate change is quickly transforming the environment. Melting of the Greenland ice sheet and loss of Arctic Ocean sea ice are two processes that have increased dramatically since the late 20th century. Here, we provide a four-part educational module focused on these two processes designed for upper middle school, high school and undergraduate students. Through this investigative module students learn critical science skills as they collect, analyze and draw conclusions from data and engage with some of the most urgent environmental questions of our time. Finally, they are challenged to think about how these changes are affecting their lives and the lives of others around the globe. The teaching module is described in Holzer and Rennermalm (2019) and includes video and data resources, and step-by-step instructions. This teaching module consists of four activities: Activity 1: My burning Feet (Engage) Activity 2: From burning feet to the Greenland Ice Sheet: Examining model estimates of Greenland ice sheet mass loss, its drivers, and its impact on global sea levels (Explore and Explain) Activity 3: Should I Move Inland? What About Others Around the World - Should They Move to Higher Ground? (Elaborate) Activity 4: How Does Melting Arctic Ice (sea ice & ice sheets) Impact the Climate Where I live? (Evaluate) The following materials are included in the module: • Teacher instructions of the entire module (Greenland Hydrology Teacher Notes.pdf) • Detailed teacher instructions for Activity 2 (Greenland hydrology activity 2 teacher instructions.pdf) • Lecture power point material (TeacherPPTs.pptx) • Student worksheets for each module (Greenland hydrology activity [1,2,3,4] wrksht.pdf) • Student report document for Activity 2 (Greenland Hydrology Student Report Document.pdf) • Data files for Activity 2 • Video resources (Welcome_To_Greenland.mov, Why_the_Arctic_matters.mov) • Videos featuring four scientists uncovering the secrets of Greenland ice sheet in four short videos (Scientist_in_Greenland_Asa.mov, Scientist_in_Greenland_Rohi.mov, Scientist_in_Greenland_Sasha.mov, Scientist_in_Greenland_Vena.mov) • An article about the module published in The Earth Scientist by Holzer and Rennermalm (2019) Part of Activity 2, students will analyze model estimates simulated with a regional climate model that also calculates ice sheet mass balance. The model is named Modèle Atmosphérique Régional (MAR) and is widely used among researchers to understand the changing Greenland ice sheet (see a detailed description of the MAR simulations in Methods). References: Holzer M and Rennermalm A (2019) Arctic Happenings – Global Impacts of the Melting Greenland Ice Sheet and Melting Sea Ice. The Earth Scientist (Winter), 6, https://www.nestanet.org/cms/content/publications/tes/archive