Title: IHS2022: Teaching Physical Geography Through Movies
1IHS2022 Teaching Physical Geography Through
Movies
- Tropical Cyclones and Global Warming
2Outline
- Tropical Cyclones
- Real Life Occurrences
- How to use movies?
- Global Warming
- Hollywood magic
- The tragedy of commons
- Bonus Materials
3The Movie
HOW REAL IS THS TRUE STORY
4Tropical Cyclones
5Tropical Cyclones A revision
- Known as hurricanes in West Indies, typhoons in
South China Sea or simply cyclones generally. - The typhoon is a giant heat engine that derives
its energy mainly through the transfer of
sensible and latent heat from sea to air.
6Tropical Cyclones
- The whirling motion is due to the Coriolis effect
and is most likely to form at 5 to 10 from the
equator in late summer or early autumn. - Diameters vary from 150 to 1000 km. Some have
small diameters of 30 km.
7Features of a tropical cyclone
- Isobars are concentric and closely spaced
- Very low pressure at the centre
- No fronts but the centre is the calm "eye" - 10
to 50km in diameter where air is descending - Rainfall is evenly distributed, but torrential
- Wind force - velocities increase towards the
centre reaching a maximum at the outer edge of
the eye (must reach 65 knots to be at hurricane
force). Speeds can reach 130 knots or more .
8Structure of a tropical cyclone
9Highly Destructive
This
aerial view shows the destruction of boats and
pier sheds by a hurricane at New London, Conn.,
Sept. 22, 1938. The hurricane swept the North
Atlantic seabord Sept. 21, leaving damages
estimated at 4,000,000.
10A sailboat is seen on a pier in front of a Coast
Guard Cutter which was also washed up by winds
and surf from Hurricane Marilyn, Sunday, Sept.
17, 1995 in St. Thomas. John and Bonnie Honer had
been living in the saiboat and took shelter at a
local hotel before Hurricane Marilyn hit early
Saturday. They painted "Kids, We'R OK Send Money
M D" on the side of their yacht hoping their
children in the U.S. will not worry. One of the
Honer's sons is in California. St. Thomas was one
of the worst-hit Caribbean islands by the
hurricane.
11 Trees lay in the road after
being felled by high winds from Hurricane Frances
04 September 2004 in Lantana, Fl in Palm Beach
County.
12 Richard Feinberg
and Janna Barbary walk with their dogs September
4, 2004 in Melbourne, Florida. Hurricane Frances
is a slow moving category 2 hurricane that is
expected to affect Florida for days.
13 This
satellite image released by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 03
September, 2004, shows Hurricane Frances as it is
headed for the Florida east coast. The Category
Three storm was 320kms (200 miles) from the
Florida coast and just off the southern tip of
the Bahamian island of Great Abaco. As Nassau
braced for the full force of the hurricane, it
experienced powerful gusts that peaked at 140kph
(86mph) per hour, according to forecasters. The
storm is forecast to reach Florida 04 September.
14Then IVAN. the terrible
- http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ivan_(2004)
15Hurricane Ivan
- Hurricane Ivan is the fifth hurricane of the 2004
Atlantic hurricane season. Ivan is a Cape
Verde-type hurricane that reached "unprecedented"
intensity at low latitudes, peaking at 135 mph
(215 km/h), making it a Category 4 Hurricane at
only 10.6 N. - After briefly being downgraded to Category 3
intensity, Ivan struck Grenada directly on
mid-day September 7 with Category 3 winds. It
travelled across the Caribbean Sea, reaching
Category 5 intensity before passing close to the
Jamaican coast and Grand Cayman and crossing the
western tip of Cuba. After moving into the
eastern gulf its strength lessened to a Category
4, and it continued on a track towards the
north-northwest, making landfall in the U.S. near
Gulf Shores, Alabama. - As Ivan approached landfall, Florida Lt. Governor
Toni Jennings described it as "the size of
Frances but with the impact of Charley."1
(http//www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/16/hurricane.i
van/index.html) - After landfall, Ivan moved north and then turned
east, bringing heavy rainfall to large areas of
the south-eastern United States. The wind
strength weakened steadily and it lost its last
tropical characteristics on September 18 while
crossing Virginia.
16Hurricane Katrina
- http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_katrina
- Katrina grazed by New Orleans, Louisiana and made
landfall in Biloxi, Mississippi in the early
morning hours of August 29, 2005. The hurricane
is believed to have killed thousands of people,
and is known to have displaced more than one
million a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen
in the U.S. since the American Civil War.
17Names for Atlantic Basin Tropical Cyclones
18Hurricane Animations
- Hurricane 101
- http//html.orlandoweather.com/sh/idi/weather/hur
ricanes/ - Atlantic Hurricane Tracker
- http//www.nhc.noaa.gov/
19Formation of Tropical Cyclone
20The Perfect Storm
- This was a meteorological abnormality in that
this nor'easter met up with the remnants of a
hurricane and the storm retrograded, or began to
move backward to the south and west. This storm
then meandered in circle several hundred miles
offshore. It continued to hurl huge waves at the
shores from Puerto Rico to Maine. Winds topped
100 miles over the Ocean. Nearly 750,000 sq.
miles of ocean experienced gale force winds or
more. Average wave height as registered by buoys
was 50ft. with rogue waves up to 100 feet.
Insured damage was listed at 168 million.
President George Bush's summer home in
Kennebunkport was damaged too.
21(No Transcript)
22Lets check out the movies
- Look at the clips taken from the movie and
discuss how you would like to use them to make
learning tropical cyclones more meaningful.
23The EYE
How strong are the winds here?
The rain bands
The rain bands
How strong is the wind here?
Conditions here
24D Grade for its SCIENCE
25The synopsis
- This is the question that haunts climatologist
Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid). Hall's research
indicates that global warming could trigger an
abrupt and catastrophic shift in the planet's
climate. The ice cores that he's drilled in
Antarctica show that it happened before, ten
thousand years ago. And now he's warning
officials that it could happen again if they
don't act soon. But his warning comes too late. - It all begins when Hall witnesses a piece of ice
the size of Rhode Island break off the Antarctic
Ice Shelf. Then a series of increasingly severe
weather events start to unfold around the globe
hail the size of grapefruit batters Tokyo,
record-breaking hurricane winds pound Hawaii
snow falls in New Delhi, and then a devastating
series of tornadoes whips through Los Angeles.
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27How Global Warming may Cause the Next Ice Age
- http//www.crawford2000.co.uk/iceage.htm
28Elements that can be used
- Larsen Ice Shelf B
- North Atlantic Current
- Glacial Maximum
- Impacts of Climate Change
- International Efforts in Climate Change
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30Reasons for the Collapses of Larsen B Ice Shelf
in Antarctica
- Strong climate warming in the region
- The incremental rate of warming is approximately
0.5 degrees Celsius per decade - The relation between ice-shelf viability and
meltwater ponds - Depending on the internal strength of the ice,
water-filled crevasses as shallow as 15 feet
could fracture through a 660-foot-thick ice
shelf.
31Reasons for the Collapses of Larsen B Ice Shelf
in Antarctica
Flow Chart of how climate warming leads to the
collapses
More ice on Antarctica ice shelves melt into
standing water ponds
Warmer surface temperatures during summers
Leak into cracks and crevasses
Crack ice shelves causing portions to float away
and eventually melt.
Increase in pressure
Enlarges the cracks and crevasses
32In the movie
- A dramatized version of the breaking ice shelf.
- Lets examine the real breaking off.
33(No Transcript)
3431 Jan 2002
5 Mar 2002
35 Edge parallel crevasses indicate future
calving. Photo courtesy of S. Tojeiro, Fuerza
Aerea Argentina, 13 March 2002.
36View from east to west nunataks Grey, Bruce, and
Bull. Photo courtesy of Pedro Skvarca, Instituto
Antártico Argentino, 13 March 2002.
37Photo from the deck of the British Research
vessel, "James Clark Ross" on or about 8 March
2002. The bergs in the background are about 25 m
high. Photo courtesy of Keith Nicholls, British
Antarctic Survey.
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39How much was lost?
- Just how much ice is that?
- area of ice lost in 2002
- 3275 square kilometers
- volume of ice lost
- 720 cubic kilometers
- 0.0024 of all Antarctic ice
- handy scales of reference
- 29 trillion bags of party ice
40Consequences
- The Landsat images show the Hektoria Glacier
before the collapse (January 2001), just after
the collapse (April 2002), and almost one year
later (February 2003). - Glacier has now sped up
- Thinning Ice cover
- Increase Ice Cover
41How do we use these footages?
- Bring about an awareness of the consequences of
Global Warming? - Explain that global warming cause some weather
extremes and hence affect local climate Larsen
B as an example.
42The north Atlantic current
- The North Atlantic drift is a warm current that
continues the Gulf stream northeast. It splits
into two west of the British Isles. One branch
(the Canary current) goes south while the other
continues north along the coast of northwestern
Europe where it has a considerable warming
influence on the climate. - Role of N Atlantic Current in Global Warming and
Ice Age?? - What did the movie say?
43What happened in the past?
- Younger Dryas - due to the melting of ice caps
in the post-Ice Age warming period. As the ice
crept back towards the polar regions of North
America, the course of the meltwater began to
change. Eventually the point was reached when
large quantities of glacial meltwater suddenly
started flooding into the seas around
Newfoundland6. Fresh water and seawater do not
mix well, and it is believed that the fresh water
from the melting glaciers interrupted the motion
of the North Atlantic Drift, the huge current of
water in the Atlantic Ocean which brings
temperate conditions to Europe. - The subsequent cooling occurred incredibly
quickly - going from mild to freezing cold in no
more than a decade or two. It appears as if the
world's climate flipped suddenly over to a new
stable pattern, and 1300 years later it flipped
quickly back to temperate conditions for reasons
not yet fully explained.
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45- Northward flowing currents in Southern Ocean
removes heat - Adds heat to N. Atlantic
- Suggests that even distant millennial-scale
oscillation - Can be driven by N. Atlantic
- As a response to changes in North Atlantic Deep
Water (NADW) formation - Response to this forcing can be different in
different environments - Can be even opposite
46- During times of NADW formation
- Ice melting dilutes salinity of N. Atlantic
- Eventually slowing or stopping NADW formation
- When NADW does not form
- Less salt removed and little heat transported
north - Ice sheets stop melting
- N. Atlantic gets salty and NADW starts to form
again
47If an ice age forms
- Would it be like the situation in the moive?
- How far did ice extend during the last Glacial
maximum 18000 years ago?
48Glacial Maximum
- By 18,000 BP, the ice sheet had spread as far
south as northern Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois. - This was known as the glacial maximum
- In the movie, it looks like this.
49(No Transcript)
50Impacts of Climate Change
- Global warming may increase the volume of the sea
and cause slight sea level rise. - But the predicted rise in sea level by 2030 may
not be greater than 50 cm. - Global warming may also cause an ice-age.
- Milder winters and summers, extend snowfall but
delay thawing.
51(No Transcript)
52(No Transcript)
53Impacts
- Change precipitation and other local climate
conditions - Changing regional climate could alter forests,
crop yields, and water supplies. - Threaten human health, and harm birds, fish, and
many types of ecosystems. - Deserts may expand
54In Summary the impacts include
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere/Cryosphere
- Tropical cyclone
- Heat and cold wave
- Hail, windstorm
- Air pollution
- Heat islands
- Water quality
- Permafrost melting
- Water shortage
- Sea-level rise
- Flooding, landslides
- Fires
- Agriculture/forestry/fisheries/productivity
Lithosphere
Biosphere
55Example of Impact for Asia
56Whats the world doing?
- Kyoto Protocol!
- Whos signed? Who hasnt?
- Lets watch a clip from the movie
57The Convention on Climate Change What does it
say?
- The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change is the first binding international
legal instrument that deals directly with climate
change. The Convention was adopted on 9 May 1992. - The Convention's ultimate objective is the
"stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations
in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the
climate system."
58Kyoto Protocol
- The Kyoto Protocol is a document signed by about
180 countries at Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997. - The protocol commits 38 industrialized countries
to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases
between 2008 to 2012 to levels that are 5.2 per
cent below 1990 levels.
59UNFCCC and Kyoto
- The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change signed in Rio in 1992 established
broad guidelines for climate change policy but
only legal obligation was to report emissions by
country - The Kyoto protocol established mandatory, phased
emission reduction targets to below 1990 levels
but only for industrialized (Annex I) countries - Is Singapore a signatory??
60What can you do?
- http//www.sec.org.sg
- http//www.street-directory.com/sec/
61Bonus Materials!
- You can use other movies such as those by BRIAN
POP to augment your teaching resources!!
62What has it been so far
- Using movies to think about how we can better
teach Physical Geography - Resources that differentiate between real life
Geography and Hollywood Geography - Learnt something new about Physical Geography