Polar Regions, Research,

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Polar Regions, Research, Applications in the
Classroom
Climate change is for real. We have just a small
window of opportunity and it is closing rather
rapidly. There is not a moment to lose. - Dr.
Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change

• Shannon Graham
• June 25, 2007

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Polar Regions

• Arctic
• North Pole to Arctic Circle
• 66.5N latitude
• 4 million residents
• Antarctica
• South Pole to Antarctic Circle
• 66.5S latitude

Windows to the Universe
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News!

• Late 19th century
• increased in CO2 (NY Times)
• 1970s
• Increased variability than entire century
• Mean temperature change
• 1.2C per 100 years
• Sensitivity of polar regions
• Arctic 2 x more than other regions
• (3.0C since 1970)
• Antarctica 5 x more than global average
• (2.5C since 1945)

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Greenhouse Gases

• Carbon dioxide CO2
• Methane CH4
• Nitrous oxide N20
• Ozone O3

• Seasonal fluctuations of CO2 levels
• Spring plants absorb CO2 release O2
• Winter decaying plants release CO2
• respiration decomposition

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Snow Ice high reflectivity of solar radiation
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Greenhouse gases Carbon insulation
Air temperature
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Global Warming

• Few of many Changes
• Storms
• Temperature
• Sea levels
• Sea ice volume
• Marine terrestrial species

• Few of many Causes
• Electricity
• Factories
• Vehicles
• Agricultural byproducts
• Burning of fossil fuels
• Deforestation

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Thermokarst 5 meters
Angie Allen
? ground temperature soil moisture levels ? CH4
from exposed soil ? erosion
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Loss of Glaciers Snow

• Glacier National Park, MT
• 150 glaciers in 1910
• lt 30 left
• potential increase of sea levels
• Kilimanjaro
• Snow melted gt 80 since 1912
• Larsen Ice Shelf, Antarctica
• Snow formation/decay 8 days earlier than
  1960s
• Earlier bird nesting
• Weakened snow floes impacting polar bear,
  seal, walrus populations

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Clifford Grabhorn
4,500 km2 (2,800 miles)
Institute of Arctic Alpine Research
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• Thermohaline circulation
• Water temperature, precipitation, salinity
  influences sea density

Argonne National Lab
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Impacting Flora Fauna

• Few of many examples.
• Population decline
• Caribou (1961 24,000 - 1997 1100)
• Polar bears endangered?
• Thriving populations
• Invasive insects
• i.e. Bark beetle 3.4 mil acres 10 years
• Adaptation efforts
• Animals moving north
• Shrubs/Trees

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Snow Density
You cant judge the snow by its cover.

• Shannon Graham
• Washington School for the Deaf
• Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic

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What is insulation?
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snow
ice
water
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Which pond has good insulation?Can we determine
snow density by observation?
Pond A
Pond B
Pond D
Pond C
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Snow density
Pond A
130.5 kg/m3
Pond B
175.5 kg/m3
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Density

• Definition Density is mass per unit volume
• D M / V
• Mass (g)
• Volume (cm3)
• Density (g/cm3)

To find volume (tube) (p r2) h h snow
depth r radius p pi (3.14)
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Part 2 Data Collection Techniques
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Step 1
Step 2
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Step 3
Step 4
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Step 5
Step 6
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Step 7
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Review

• Classroom activities developed by other TEA
  teachers
• http//tea.armadaproject.org/tea_classroommaterial
  s.html
• Shannons e-journals during field work in AK
• http//tea.armadaproject.org/tea_grahamfrontpage.h
  tml
• Adaptation to this activity
• Leave tray out for 24 hours and re-calculate
  density
• Add water to 1 or 2 trays for more variations of
  density