43 Chapter 14 Extreme Realms Classroom Activity

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University of Pittsburgh *

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101

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Geography

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Oct 30, 2023

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PHS 101 Classroom Activities Chapter 14 Extreme Realms Animation: Glacial Dynamics: Advance and Retreat Summary: This animation shows how glacial advance and retreat are related to the snow and ice budget, and how the rate of flow within a glacier is affected by terrain and temperature. Retreat or advance at the toe of the glacier is shown to depend not only on local temperatures, but also on glacial flow (in turn, it is related to available precipitation, temperatures, and terrain at the zone of accumulation). Students can pull virtual levers to show the effects of variables influencing ice-flow rate and toe advance, both singly and in combination. Review and Discussion Questions: 1. When a mountain glacier retreats, is it a result of ice flowing back uphill or the toe moving towards higher elevations? 2. Describe three factors that influence the rate at which ice flows within a glacier. Animation: Global Sea Level Change Summary: This animation shows the various means by which sea level changes, including due to cooling and warming climate, the thermal expansion of seawater, rates of seafloor spreading, and the formation of underwater volcanic plateaus. Classroom Use: This would make a good pre-class assignment, prior to a discussion regarding how changes in climate can lead to changes in global sea level. Review and Discussion Questions: 1. Of the four means by which sea level changes, which ones have something to do with changes in climate? 2. Do water molecules expand much due to temperature increases? Why does this lead to sea-level rise? 1

Narrative Art Video: Evolution of Deserts (2:44) Summary: This video uses animation to show how desert landscapes evolve through jointing of exposed rock and through erosion, leading to cliff retreat. In this process, broad, elevated mesas are reduced to smaller isolated buttes and eventually to narrow chimneys before disappearing completely. Review and Discussion Questions: 1. Do buttes form from mesas, or do mesas arise from the growth of buttes? Explain your answer. 2. You arrive at a patch of dry terrain where outcrops of rock consist of asymmetrical, pointed ridges (cuestas) instead of flat-topped buttes and mesas. What can you infer about the underlying rock in this region? Real World Video: Drumlin Hunting in Iceland (4:04) Summary: This video shows drumlins emerging from the terminus of the Mulajökull Glacier, which an international team of researchers is studying to figure out how drumlins form and how glacial processes affect them. Review and Discussion Questions: 1. Describe the characteristic appearance of drumlins. 2. Why are drumlins formed during glacial retreat? Real World Video: Greenlands Glaciers as Seen by Radarsat (1:20) 2

Summary: This is an animation up Greenland’s Sermilik Fjord to the toe of the Helheim Glacier, where it is calving into the fjord. This animation is based on Radarsat data from the years 2000 to 2013 and shows how the glacier terminus has changed through those years. Review and Discussion Questions: 1. How does sea ice differ from glaciers? 2. Explain what the process of calving refers to with regard to glaciers. Real World Video: Mathematician Uses Skills to Study Greenland's Retreating Glaciers (3:16) Summary: This video describes how mathematician David Holland and his team are gathering data from fjords in Greenland to examine the interaction between the ice flow from continental glaciers and the oceans. The team hopes to develop a model of glacial melting that can help predict sea-level rise in the future. Review and Discussion Questions: 1. What is the relationship between deep-ocean currents and advances or retreats of Greenland ice sheets? 2. What is an outlet glacier? Real World Video: Rapid Glacier Change (3:00) 3

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Summary: This video is aerial footage of the terminus of the Virkisjökull Glacier in southeast Iceland. The footage shows the dramatic melting that has occurred from the spring of 2015 to 2016, with the toe retreating at a much faster rate, the lower part of the glacier becoming much steeper, and a meltwater lake forming. Review and Discussion Questions: 1. As a glacier retreats, where does the majority of ice melt occur? 2. What land features are often left behind after a glacier retreats? Real World Video: Satellite Tracks Saharn Dust to Amazon in 3D (2:13) Summary: This is a video explaining the findings from the first multiyear study of the millions of tons of dust traveling from the Sahara Desert to the Amazon basin, 3,000 miles away. This study used data from NASA’s CALIPSO satellite to reconstruct the 3-D distribution of windblown dust from the Sahara to the Amazon basin, from the year 2007 to 2013. Review and Discussion Questions: 1. Explain how dust from deserts in Africa end up in the Amazon. 2. What benefit does Saharan dust offer to the Amazon basin? Think-Pair-Share Question: Human Impacts on the Landscape 4

1. Think about the process of desertification and the impacts humans have on a piece of landscape due to overgrazing, intensive farming, diversion of water supplies, and overpopulation. Where in the world has desertification occurred in the past 100 years? What are some of the solutions proposed by earth scientists to improve life in regions that are experiencing this phenomenon?” Have students engage in a think-pair-share discussion for 5 minutes with 1–3 of their immediate neighbors. Then discuss student ideas with the whole class for up to 5 minutes. 2. What are some solutions that are currently being implemented by communities around the world to help solve the water crisis? 5