Summary
This lesson introduces the Arctic water cycle and permafrost. Students learn about the active layer and Arctic watershed data collection methods. Students hypothesize about future changes to Greenland’s Far North and prepare a three-minute presentation to communicate their understanding to the local community in Greenland.
Materials and Preparation
- Reading
- Student worksheet
- Presentation slides (all linked below)
Learning Objectives
Activity Overview
- Observing Change in Greenland’s Far North_Reading
- Observing Change in Greenland’s Far North_Student Worksheet
- Observing Change in Greenland’s Far North_PDF of Slides
- Observing Change in Greenland’s Far North_ Google Slides link
Assign the reading and student worksheet as homework. Alternatively, you may wish to have student complete some of the reading and worksheet in class.
- Part 1 of the reading, Welcome to Greenland’s Far North, introduces Greenland and its global importance. Questions on the student worksheet for Part 1 ask students to reflect on this information and to summarize the relevance of studying Greenland’s ice sheet and permafrost.
- In Parts 2 and 3, students will learn about the Arctic water cycle and high Arctic data collection methods in three watershed study sites and complete the questions on the worksheet in order to apply what they have learned.
- Note: For Part 3 of the worksheet, assign students different topics (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, piezometer, oxygen isotopes, and acoustic doppler current profiler). Note that this is not a group assignment; students will become “experts” on their topic to share with peers in class.
Utilize the presentation file to review the homework and lead the small group discussions.
- The first small group discussion focuses on the peer-review journal article that students reviewed.
- For the second small group discussion, each group member will share their hypotheses and determine how they would communicate the information to the local Inuit people of Greenland.
Reflection
After the small group presentations, administer the ten-minute “exit ticket” for students to reflect what they have learned (see last slide of the presentation file).
Supporting Documents
Additional Standards:
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
ESS3.D: Global Climate Change
ESS2.A: Earth’s Materials and Systems
References:
Lesson developed by Polar STEAM Educator Fellow Waverly Ray in conjunction with Polar STEAM Researcher Fellow Eric Klein.
Attributions
NASA Climate Kids. (2024). What is Permafrost?
NASA Climate Change. (2022). Annual Arctic Sea Ice Minimum Area 1979-2022, With Graph
NASA Earth Observatory. (2007). Why Does the Greenland Ice Sheet Matter?
Riebeek, H. 2005. Paleoclimatology: The oxygen balance. NASA Earth Observatory. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Paleoclimatology_OxygenBalance
South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC). 2016. Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to measure streamflow. https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/acoustic-doppler-current-profiler-adcp-measure-streamflow
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Indicators: conductivity
United States Geologic Survey. (n.d.). Watersheds
USGS Water Science School. (n.d.) pH scale
USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program. (n.d.). Sources of methane escaping from Arctic environments
Works Cited
Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC). (2018). Principles for conducting research in the Arctic. https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/arctic/conduct.jsp
Klein, E., Cherry, J.E., Young, J., Noone, D., Leffler, A.J., & Welker, J.M. (2015). Arctic cyclone water vapor isotopes support past sea ice retreat recorded in Greenland ice. Scientific Reports, 5: 10295. doi: 10.1038/srep10295
National Science Foundation (NSF). (n.d.). Examples of community engagement in NSF-funded research. https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/arctic/ace/community.jsp
NASA. (2021, January 25). Warming Seas Are Accelerating Greenland’s Glacier Retreat. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3062/warming-seas-are-accelerating-greenlands-glacier-retreat/
Poinar, K., Mankoff, K. D., Fausto, R. S., Fettweis, X., Loomis, B. D., Wehrlé, A., Jensen, C. D., Tedesco, M., Box, J. E., & Mote, T. L. (2023). NOAA Arctic Report Card 2023: Greenland Ice Sheet. NOAA technical report OAR ARC; 23-05. https://doi.org/10.25923/yetx-rs76
Standards:
Polar Literacy Principles:
Humans are a part of the Polar system. The Arctic has a rich cultural history and diversity of Indigenous Peoples.
Resource Developed By
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Made possible with funding by the U.S. National Science Foundation Award #2221990. The information contained here is those of the author(s) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.