Why are Melting Glaciers Important to our Coast?
Hey there Bay Backpackers! I know you have all have been sitting on the edge of you seat watching the Winter Olympics, So I thought that I would start off this weeks blog with a little Olympic themed riddle….
I am breaking speed records, but in this race no one will win. What am I?
...Dramatic Pause…
Did you say… a retreating Glacier?? You are correct! Man, you are good at riddles! (Or maybe just good at reading titles)
Anyways, I was rather upset to hear that Greenland’s Jakobshavn Isbrae Glacier broke its own speed record again, quadrupling its summer run to the sea between the 1990s and 2012. This is particularly upsetting for us coastline folk, who may be particularly susceptible to the consequential sea-level rise that is a result of glacier melt like that of the Jakobshavn Isbrae Glacier. Check out this dramatic video of a glacier calving. Wow, that was intense. I can hear those land locked states laughing now, while they make plans for their new beach front homes.
Yet, moderate projections only predict that sea-levels will rise 0.387-m rise by 2100, which makes pictures like this one of a drowned inner harbor of Baltimore under 10 meters of water a picture of the distant future. But this is not the case for all of our coastal cities. Cities like New York, New Orleans, Miami and many other international cities are in much more immediate danger from the effects of sea-level rise. Even an increase of just 1 meter could be devastating to some of these cities.
Even though you may not live in one of those cities that will be first impacted, it doesn’t mean that this could not have huge ecological, social, and economical impacts to the Chesapeake Bay area. Which makes it a great topic for classroom discussion.
Sea Level rise can be used to teach many different skills…
Such as data interpretation; Try using NOAA’s lesson plans on sea level rise to use actual data to draw conclusions.
Or maybe have you class think about the political implications of sea-level rise, what policies should be in place? How can we better plan for our cities? Have you kids make decisions about how they would plan for a rising sea-levels, and what laws and policy they would implement.
Want to integrate some technical skills? Did you like those pictures from earlier in the blog? You can have your students model the effect of sea level rise in your area by making your own “Drown your town” maps using google earth.
Want to use a hands on discussion? Try making your own glaciers and seeing what effect sea level rise more,melting land ice or sea ice?
Well I hope that you got some ideas about how to integrate sea-level rise into your classroom discussion! As well as how to use it as a tool to talk about other disciplines and introduce new skills!