What happens if the polar ice caps melt?

9.a What happens if the polar ice caps melt?

­There has been much discussion about the possibility that global warming will cause the polar ice caps to melt and flood many coastal cities. Most scientists believe that this process would take thousands of years, if at all.

Most of the world's ice (90%) is in Antarctica. The average temperature in Antarctica is minus-35Fahrenheit (minus-37° Celsius) — well below the temperature at which water freezes — so any significant melting of the Antarctic ice cap is considered very unlikely to happen.

It is considered possible that only a portion of the ice will melt, even over a long period of time, and that sea levels will increase by no more than a few feet.  If the polar ice caps melted enough to cause the ocean levels to rise several feet, the results would be significant. The streets of many current coastal cities (like NYC) would be underwater, necessitating their evacuation. Low-lying countries, such as many of those in Indonesia, could become almost entirely submerged. The new standing water would be ideal for the breeding of mosquitos and other insects, spreading diseases such as malaria. Flooding also could cover much farmland and affect the world's food supply. Farmers in the flooded areas would need to move to more elevated land, which might be less suited to growing crops.

What is not possible is that all the world's land would be covered if the polar ice caps melted. There simply is not enough ice on Earth for this to happen. Even in a severe flood, only a small percentage of the world's land would be lost.

 9b. What other questions do you have about the Science Inquiry Experience?

So what will happen in the future? No one really knows for sure. In 1995, the International Panel on Climate Change asked scientists to make some predictions. They predicted how sea level might change by the year 2100. The lowest predictions were at six inches and the highest at 37 inches. The rise will come from thermal expansion of the ocean and from melting glaciers and ice sheets. Let’s say it’s somewhere in the middle of the predictions, say 20 inches. That’s no small amount-- it could have a big effect on coastal cities, especially during storms.

POP, POP, POP!!

STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is an interdisciplinary approach to learning, where academic concepts are combined with real world lessons.  As a special education science teacher, I am very much interested in this method of teaching because of the increased student engagement.

This week we had to create a science lesson plan with the purpose being to increase STEM education, planning and student involvement in science. The lesson I created focuses on the Three Methods of Heating the atmosphere. The ways of heating includes conduction, convection, and radiation.  An easy way for my students to remember these terms is to use an analogy to help them figure it out. Popcorn is the analogy we will be using because everyone loves popcorn!!. 

There are three ways to cook popcorn.  Each of these methods of cooking popcorn is really a hands-on example of the three ways heat can be transferred.

Conduction.  This method of heat transfer is the most familiar to people.  If you have ever burned yourself on a hot pan because you touched it, you have experienced this method. Conduction is heat transfer through touching. Metals conduct heat well.  Air is not as good a conductor of heat. Conduction is a direct contact type of heat transfer.

Lab – Put oil in the bottom of a pan.  Cover the bottom of the pan with popcorn kernels.  Place the pan on the stove and turn on the burner to medium heat.  Cover the pan with a lid. Shake the pan so the kernels move around in the oil as they pop.

Convection.  Convection is heat transfer by the movement of mass from one place to another.  It can take place only in liquids or gases.  The radiation from the sun heats the air of the atmosphere in that area. The hot air heats the kernels and makes them pop.

Lab – Obtain a popcorn popper.  Place the popcorn kernels in the popper.  Plug in/turn on the popper.  Hot air will transfer heat to the kernels, making them expand and pop. ‘

Radiation.  Radiation heats like the rays from the sun.  When the Sun heats the Earth, the Earth gets warmer in that location and radiates heat into the atmosphere, making it doubly warm. 

Lab – Microwave a bag of microwave popcorn.  The kernels are heated up by the radiation in the microwave, and the kernels heat up, giving off more heat to the kernels surrounding it and making the kernel “pop”.  ‘

My students loved these labs because they get to eat all the left-over popcorn.  In preparing this lesson, I had to consider my students and how they would create their own learning. The 5E uses Engage (anticipatory set), Explore (experiment), Explain (sharing new understanding from exploring), Elaborate (connect to real world, gain deeper understanding), and Evaluate (assess.) Using the 5E, approach helped to maintain a focus on the objectives of the lesson as well as integrate STEM education integration.