Alaska Melting Pot

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Final Project

Essential Question: How can digital resources and effective teaching methods be used to integrate Alaska Native ways of knowing and Western scientific methods in order to create greater understanding of, and interest in, geosciences for students?

Introduction

ANSWER Camp stands for Alaska Native Student Wisdom Enrichment Retreat. Alaska Native 7th and 8th grade students from rural locations all over the state are sent to Sitka for two weeks to participate in science and math curriculum taught from an Alaska Native perspective. The Southeast Regional Resource Center (SERRC) has funded ANSWER camp over the past 12 years through a U.S. Department of Education Grant. Now that the funding is no longer available, SERRC hopes to fund future camps through private industry. Although the funding for this summer is not enough to host a camp, we are hoping that we will be able to have camp next summer. I have been a teacher at ANSWER Camp for seven summers and participated in developing the curriculum for the camp during the winter months for four years. For my final project for this course, I would like to see the students host a community action meeting educating the public about global climate change and its impacts on Alaska Native peoples.

Objectives

Students will use digital resources to conduct research and create a presentation on an Alaskan global climate change topic.

Students will present and answer questions about their topic to community members.

Students will create awareness within the community about the impacts of global climate change on Alaska and Alaska Native peoples.

Goals

To create student and community awareness of the impacts of global climate change in Alaska.

To create student and community awareness of the impacts of global climate change on Alaska Native people.

To use digital resources in order to create a greater understanding and assist in student research of global climate change and its impacts on Alaska and its indigenous people.

Engage

Here in Alaska we are experiencing the affects of global climate change first hand. We are finding that Alaska Native people are the very first to notice the changes affecting their communities because of their deep connections to the land. They are noticing changes in our oceans, permafrost, sea ice, terrestrial ice and living organisms. What are these changes exactly, why are they happening, and what can we do about them? You will be calling the members of our community together to explore answers to these questions in a community action meeting sponsored by ANSWER Camp. Your job is to educate the community of the changes occurring in Alaska due to global climate change, how these changes impact Alaska Native people, and encourage action from them to help stop, slow down, or adapt to the changes occurring to our state.

Explore

Research one of the following topics in closer detail:

Permafrost
Sea Ice
Terrestrial Ice
Alaskan living organisms

After the Community Action Meeting, reflect on the following:What digital resource (e.g. Google Earth, YouTube, specific websites, etc.) that you used to gain information about your topic was the most useful? Why or why not?

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Blog Reviews

Arctic Updates
http://arcticupdates.blogspot.com/

After reviewing the 9 Cs for better blogging, I feel like Richelle’s blog, Arctic Updates, has most of the Cs nailed. Her writing is clear of typos, and is web quality. The writing is also concise and didn’t ramble on for paragraphs losing the reader. She adds credibility by including relevant personal stories, such as events during her month long stay in Costa Rica, or her experiences while living in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. Each module is titled with a creative heading, such as “Not Gone With The Wind”, and the clean appearance of the blog is improved after the first two blog entries with the addition of a contrasting font and a consistent layout. The writing consists of mostly credited content by referring to links to relevant websites or interesting YouTube videos from various credible sources. In this ways Richelle is able to connect her audience to other valuable resources as well as bring validity to her writing. Nice job Richelle!

Bill-Alaska Geoscience
http://bill-wendlandt.blogspot.com/

Bill’s blog, Bill-Alaska Geoscience, is another blog that I feel has most of the 9 Cs nailed. His writing is clear and concise even though his blog entries seem some of the longest compared to other bloggers in the course. Each blog entry is packed with relevant personal stories and images comparing life in Wisconsin to life in the Arctic. The stories or personal pictures add credibility to his blog, and the reader becomes immediately aware that he is a man with many life experiences worth sharing. In addition, all writing and pictures are credited at the end of each blog entry, and most of his images contain captions to allow the reader to connect better to the content. He also posted all this blog entries on time or early, and in doing so allowed other class members to derive inspiration from his thoughts. Thank you Bill!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Module IX Response

Essential Question: How are climate, terrestrial ice and Alaskan indigenous cultures all connected?

Terrestrial ice is frozen fresh water that is formed on land. Terrestrial ice shouldn’t be confused with sea ice, which is made of frozen salt water and is typically thinner than terrestrial ice.

According to one of our Teachers' Domain videos on Antarctica, 70% of the Earth’s fresh water is frozen in and around the continent of Antarctica. As the ice melts, it contributes to the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) that surrounds the continent. AABW, when compared to other water masses in the ocean, is very cold, dense, and fresh. This bottom water moves northward toward the equator and is responsible for circulation of water and nutrients around the planet, much like the Arctic. The process of large-scale ocean circulation driven by differences in densities due to salinity, and temperature is called thermohaline circulation. Thermohaline circulation greatly impacts global climate patterns as they interact with the surrounding atmosphere. In fact, it has been postulated that the Little Ice Age was a result of a slowing of thermohaline circulation due a large amount of fresh water entering the North Atlantic after a period of global warming. There are some that are concerned that the melting of Antarctica and the Arctic could cause another shutdown to thermohaline circulation.

The rest of the world’s terrestrial ice is mostly distributed throughout the world as glaciers. Alaska is well known for its cold climate and beautiful glaciers, but actually makes up very little of the world’s terrestrial ice. However, ice has made a huge impact in shaping the unique indigenous cultures within the state.

A good example of this is the Tlingit people in Southeast Alaska. They tell a migration story of how they came to Southeast. All the Tlingit stories are owned by specific clans. Stories are only told when permission is obtained by the clan. However, this story was published on many websites including Wikipedia, so I am assuming that it is allowed public access and it is alright to refer to it in this blog. Originally they were part of the Athabascan people in the interior of Alaska. A group decided to find lands that were more plentiful with food. During their journey they came to a glacier and were overwhelmed with the thought of crossing it. They noticed a river coming from underneath the glacier and decided to send a small group in a canoe to see if there was a way through to the other side. The Tlingit dance group I belong to still sings a two part series that was supposedly composed at this time of their migration and tell the story in remembrance.

Another example is the Tlingit people in Hoonah, Alaska. My father was adopted into the Chookaneidi clan, which is one of the main clans in the area. They tell of getting pushed out of their original homeland of Glacier Bay by the glaciers about 800 years ago. The story tells of a fast moving glacier that was as fast as a “running dog”. The Chookaneidi still make the noise the glacier made as it pushed them out during certain ceremonies. There is a great YouTube video briefly telling a brief version of the story called, Tlingit Creation Story of Glacier Bay.

Module IX was packed full of resources that allow students to connect climate, terrestrial ice, and Alaskan indigenous culture at a new level. I spent probably twice as much time perusing the links in this module than in any of the others. They were that good. Just to highlight a few that were of particular interest to me were the USGS links of where Earth’s fresh water is located and where Earth’s glaciers are located. These were great for me to really visualize how much fresh water is locked up in Antarctica, and how we in Alaska relate to the rest of the world in terms of terrestrial ice. In addition, USGS laid it out nicely for how much sea level would rise if all the ice melted in particular locations around the world. I also connected to the Extreme Ice Survey website with the time lapse Vimeo of the Mendenhall Glacier. Wow, glaciers really do move like water! I showed my family members the YouTube and Teachers’ Domain videos related to permafrost. I found myself thinking about melting permafrost all week and thinking about the potential harm it will do to our state. These resources prove to be invaluable for not only my education, but for the people around me and my students.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Module VIII Response

Essential Question: How are Arctic sea-ice, climate and culture all connected?

Sea ice is ocean water, or in other words, salt water that freezes. Sea ice shouldn’t be confused with icebergs, which are pieces of glaciers or ice shelves that break off into the ocean and are made of fresh water. Sea ice is found in the Arctic and Antarctic, and spreads over a larger area in the winter and melts in the summer. Some sea ice can be found year around. The world’s oceans are covered with 15% of sea ice during part of the year.

Sea ice and global climate are intricately connected. The surface of sea ice is bright, or has high albedo, reflecting a significant amount of sunlight back into space. The result is cooler temperatures, which is important to maintaining the local and global ecosystems as well as the movement of global ocean currents. Dense, cold, salt water sinks to the ocean floor and moves toward the equator, while warmer equatorial water moves along the surface toward the poles. These temperature differences in ocean currents are crucial in circulating nutrients and global climate patterns.

Unfortunately human activities have increased concentrations of greenhouse gases resulting in global warming. The increase in average global temperatures has impacted Earth’s polar regions first. This is because increasing water temperatures have begun to melt sea ice and therefore decrease the albedo of the polar regions. This causes the water to warm up faster and faster the more ice is melted. Without the cooling effect of the sea-ice global temperatures will be harder to control, climate patterns will be greatly disrupted, and ocean currents will be irreversibly altered. Now humans that were never that concerned about the most isolated, scantly populated, and coldest parts of the globe are now realizing that in destroying it they may have permanently altered the planet along with their lifestyle.

I found one example of global climate change altering human activities on Our World 2.0, one of the many useful resources presented in this module. The article and corresponding video discuss the nomadic shepherds of Kyrgyzstan’s grasslands, and how global climate change is affecting their grazing lands and indigenous lifestyle. Resources such as Our World 2.O and NASA are essential to allow students to see the diverse impacts of topics such as global climate change on real people. In addition, resources such as the 2009 Indigenous People’s Global Summit on Climate Change—Anchorage Declaration allow students to see steps that people are actively taking to address the issue of climate change. In particular I really connected to number 6 of the “calls to action” in the Anchorage declaration. I feel like I have been struggling to articulate the concept of “false solutions” to climate change for years until reading that portion of the declaration. Resources such as these can only enrich the learning experience for students and encourage independent exploration.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Module VII Response

Essential Question: How is Earth’s climate connected to its geological, biological and cultural systems?

Climate has been simply defined as the weather in a particular area, averaged over a long period of time. It includes the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, and the amounts of specific particles in the atmosphere in a given region. Many would agree that not until the development of a primitive atmosphere did Earth truly have a climate. The early release of elements and compounds such as water, ammonia, nitrogen, methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide from Earth’s very hot infantile surface created the first atmosphere.

From the moment of the atmosphere’s conception, the atmosphere and climate have been in a constant state of flux. It seems there are infinite geological and biological factors that have influenced the Earth’s climate. To just name a few, meteorites, comets, volcanic eruptions, the appearance of life in the form of anaerobic bacteria, the evolution of bacteria, algae, fungi, plants, and animals.

One interesting example of a geological system affecting Earth’s climate is the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. Krakatoa, a volcanic island in Indonesia, had a series of eruptions over a two day period that resulted in destroying two-thirds of the island, was heard as far 3,000 miles away, and killed over 36,000 people. This cataclysmic explosion created an atmospheric dust veil that caused the average global temperature to drop as much as 1.2 degrees Celsius for a year after the eruption, and temperatures did not return to normal until five years later. Some scientists have postulated that a volcanic eruption similar to that of Krakatoa, may be responsible for the extreme weather events of 535-536 AD.

Source: en:Image:Krakatoa 01.JPG

A fascinating example of a biological system affecting the Earth’s climate is methane producing microbes in Siberia’s melting permafrost. We learned about the microbes in the Arctic’s upper permafrost layers as possible CO2 contributors in one of our Teachers’ Domain resources, but scientists have also found methane gas to be a result of melting permafrost. The methane producing microbes live in deeper layers beneath lakes or other oxygen lacking areas. Methane gas is a more serious greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but has a shorter life.

The most obvious example of culture affecting Earth’s climate is the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere from increased concentrations of greenhouse gases as a result of human activity. Human activities that contribute to Global warming widely range from burning fossil fuels to run their cars and factories to their dependence on methane producing cattle as a food source. One example of a human activity that affects global climate that I had never heard of until researching the topic was airplane contrails that contribute to Earth’s cloudiness. Airplanes that consistently travel the same routes over areas of low temperatures and high humidity create persistent trails of cirrus clouds and therefore disrupt the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing infrared radiation.

Teachers’ Domain and NOVA are great for finding resources in topics of interest. They aid in directing research and stimulate students to explore and extend their learning into other related topics. NOVA’s Origins website in particular is extra special. Right on the home page I found a great relevant article to this week’s module titled How Did Life Begin? It is packed with articles and other digital resource that support great teaching. The additional visuals that sites such as Good.is/Good Blog and Information is Beautiful – Climate Change Consensus provide are invaluable. When students hear that not all scientists agree on human induced climate change or that industrialized nations are the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, they can really see what that means. It is clear that teachers should regularly use these websites in developing units of study as well as making them available to students to encourage independent exploration.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Module VI Response

Essential Question: How are the Earth, atmosphere and cultures all connected?

All life on Earth has evolved to depend on the atmosphere for protection from the sun’s harmful rays or meteorites. It contains the air that we breathe, provides us with warmth and distributes water across the globe. The Earth simply would not harbor life if it weren’t for the perfect recipe of gases that surround it.

The atmosphere surrounding planet Earth is composed of a soup of gases that are held to Earth’s surface by the force of gravity. It is primarily made up of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. Other gases, called trace gases, are also present. These include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Additional particles from industrial pollutants, such as elemental mercury, chlorine, or sulfur can be found in the atmosphere. As well as particles from more natural substances, such as pollen, volcanic ash, spores, or even meteoroids.

The atmosphere is made of five main layers. From top to bottom these include: the exosphere, thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere. The layers mainly differ in density, pressure and whether the temperature increases or decreases with altitude. The properties of these layers, and their interactions with the sun, ocean, and the surface of the Earth are what create the weather systems that affect our daily lives.

Cultures around the world have been aware of the impacts of weather systems created in our atmosphere. Cultures that are dependent on the rain and sun for agriculture, safe travel, or recreation have learned through observation that weather systems can be predicted prior to their actual arrival.

An example of this is in Kenya with the Abasuba people that live on the islands of Lake Victoria. They know rains are on their way and it is time to plant their crops when they see the Magungu bird fly higher than normal in its route from South to North. The Abasuba say that the bird will look like it is floating in the air. Scientists say that the flight pattern of the bird could be because of the inter-tropical convergence zone, a region near the equator where winds from the northern and southern hemisphere collide. The Lake is located in an area of extreme convection, and could cause the high flight pattern of the bird.

The inter-tropical convergence zone often forms a band of weather systems near the equator.

The atmosphere also shapes people in regions of high altitude. The atmosphere is less dense as altitude increases, meaning less air for people and other organisms to breathe. There have been some interesting adaptations in cultures living in our highest mountains ranges. The Andean people for example have adapted to less oxygen in the air by developing higher hemoglobin concentrations in their blood. Hemoglobin is the oxygen carrying molecule in our blood, and having more of it prevents hypoxia, a severe condition due to an insufficient amount of oxygen. Just as there are physiological adaptations, there are cultural adaptations, such as chewing coca leaves or drinking coca tea like most Americans drink coffee, which increases the oxygen absorption in the blood.

Google Earth and NASA are great resources to allow students to visualize global weather systems. While researching the Kenya example above, I turned to Google Earth to see if I could find the inter-tropical convergence zone and what do you know, I saw the characteristic band of clouds created by the northern and southern hemisphere winds colliding and creating weather systems. In addition, the YouTube resources we have been exposed in this class are evidence that it is a valid means of illustrating science concepts to students of all ages. In particular, the video showing a year’s worth of water vapor motion across the planet and the video of water freezing by boiling was so engaging that it was the source of my whole family’s entertainment this Friday evening. Incorporating Google Earth, NASA, YouTube, and Teachers’ Domain into units of study can only deepen understanding and encourage additional exploration from students.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Module V Response

Essential Question: How are climate, cultures and oceans all connected?

Climate has been simply defined as the weather in a particular area, averaged over a long period of time. It includes the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, and the amounts of specific particles in the atmosphere in a given region. Climate is affected by numerous variables and their interactions are very complex. In general, climate is affected by a location’s latitude, terrain, altitude, the presence of ice or snow, or bodies of water, such as lakes and oceans, and their currents.

The ocean has amazing properties that influence climate. Ocean currents move continuously around the world, circulating surface water to the bottom of the ocean and back up again. Wind, temperature, and salinity of the water all control this movement. The currents spread heat from the sun throughout the world. The ocean also reduces the effects of global warming by taking up huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The partnership between the ocean and the atmosphere is the driving force behind Earth’s climate.

When looking at groups of people living in specific regions of the world, we begin to see patterns of behavior and practices that are connected to the climate of the area. These patterns of behavior, shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices make up the region’s culture.

A great example of climate shaping cultures is the Anasazi people of the American Southwest. Researchers studied stalagmites in New Mexican caves, upward-growing columns of minerals that are deposited by dripping water. The mineral bands making up stalagmites were used to track wetter and drier periods over the past 4,000 years. The researchers found that the climate changes correlated closely with major cultural changes in the Anasazi people. Agricultural advances, such as the appearance of corn and cotton, the use of ceramics, changes in how they built their dwellings, and the eventual abandonment of the famous pueblo cliff dwellings, all corresponded to changes in climate marked by the mineral bands in stalagmites.

A great example of an ocean culture shaped by climate is the Inupiaq people in Alaska prior to European contact. The Inupiaq people live in the frigid arctic region of the state. There is very little vegetation, and what vegetation there is, is covered up most of the year by snow and ice. A traditional Inupiaq diet consisted of mostly fish and large sea mammals, and they clothed themselves with the skins and furs of the animals they ate. Their homes were partially built underground to conserve heat. Inupiaq’s travelled by umiaks (large canoe like boats that could hold multiple passengers), kayaks, dog sled, or by foot. The Inupiaq were and still are shaped by the frigid climate in which they live. It drives the foods they have available to them, their behavior, where and how they live, what they wear, and their relationships with each other.

The Inupiaq Eskimos made their clothing from available animal furs, parts, and skins.Collection Name: Alaska Historical Library, Lomen Brothers Collection.Identifier: PCA 66-54-817

Climate, ocean, and cultures are intricately woven together. Resources such as Google Earth can orient students to a particular area, as well as illustrate ocean currents and sea surface temperatures. YouTube and Teachers’ Domain are additionally valuable in illustrating the climate-ocean-culture interaction. Examples that are specific to a particular region, such as the Inupiaq people of Alaska, or the Anasazi in New Mexico, become immediately available and essential in creating a deeper understanding of climate in our classrooms.