Polar Regions, Research, & Applications in the Classroom Shannon Graham June 25, 2007 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

Polar Regions Arctic –North Pole to Arctic Circle –66.5°N latitude –4 million residents Antarctica –South Pole to Antarctic Circle –66.5°S latitude Windows to the Universe

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

Greenhouse Gases Carbon dioxide CO 2 Methane CH 4 Nitrous oxide N 2 0 Ozone O 3 Seasonal fluctuations of CO 2 levels –Spring: plants absorb CO 2 & release O 2 –Winter: decaying plants release CO 2 respiration & decomposition

Snow & Ice – high reflectivity of solar radiation

Greenhouse gases Carbon insulation Air temperature

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

Angie Allen Thermokarst: ~ 5 meters ↑ ground temperature & soil moisture levels ↑ CH 4 from exposed soil ↑ erosion

Glacier National Park, MT ~ 150 glaciers in 1910 < 30 left potential increase of sea levels Kilimanjaro Snow melted > 80% since 1912 Larsen Ice Shelf, Antarctica Snow formation/decay – 8 days earlier than 1960’s Earlier bird nesting Weakened snow floes – impacting polar bear, seal, walrus populations Loss of Glaciers & Snow

Institute of Arctic & Alpine Research Clifford Grabhorn 4,500 km 2 (2,800 miles)

Thermohaline circulation –Water temperature, precipitation, & salinity influences sea density Argonne National Lab

Impacting Flora & Fauna Few of many examples…. Population decline –Caribou (1961: 24, : 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

Snow Density You can’t judge the snow by its cover. Shannon Graham Washington School for the Deaf Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic

What is insulation?

water ice snow

Which pond has good insulation? Can we determine snow density by observation? Pond A Pond D Pond B Pond C

130.5 kg/m kg/m 3 Pond A Pond B Snow density

Density Definition: Density is mass per unit volume D = M / V Mass (g) Volume (cm 3 ) Density (g/cm 3 ) To find volume (tube): (  * r 2 ) h h = snow depth r = radius  = pi (3.14)

Part 2: Data Collection Techniques

Step 1 Step 2

Step 3 Step 4

Step 5 Step 6

Step 7

Review Classroom activities developed by other TEA teachers – Shannon’s e-journals during field work in AK – 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