Project Goals

Improve your understanding of climate change science and how climate change topics can be integrated with general science & math curriculum topics.

Improve your teaching skills in inquiry and scientific reasoning, as well as, in helping students use rich technology tools for data collection & analysis . To appreciate climate change science students must act like climate change scientists.

Encourage your students to care about their world through responsible choices and decisions. All of us must lower our carbon footprint by making lifestyle changes and responsible citizen action.

Our Expectations & Challenge to You

We expect each teacher . . . .

to develop and implement at least one project-based student activity that focuses on climate change science, emphasizes data collection & analysis, is aligned to Washington science & math standards, and is sustainable.

Implement the Cool School Challenge

To join our project network by participating in 1) onsite visits, 2) support help and equipment loan program, 3) utilizing our resource web page & clearinghouse and 3) our communication & information blogs.

Project Webpage

Web address: http://my-ecoach.com/project.php?id=15081

Tasks to perform now:

Find the teacher blog, bookmark the blog address & add a comment. You might want to comment on the student blog.

Student blog address: http://my-ecoach.com/blogs.php?blog=3005

Find: Location of U.S. Global Change Research Program 12 min. Video Segment

Find: Location of Windows To The Universe Activity Website. Go to the actual site to explore their teacher activities.

Discussion about eCoach for students

Greenhouse Gases

In 1958 John David Keeling began monitoring CO2 concentrations at the US Weather Bureau observatory on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. This now-famous“Keeling Curve” shows his data from that starting date (315 ppm) to the present date (387 ppm), as well as, the annual cyclical variation of CO2 concentrations due to seasonal photosynthesis (CO2 sink) and decomposition (CO2 source).

Original Source:

Global Carbon Emissions 2004

How much CO2 is too much? Climate experts are now evaluating certainbiogeochemical systems to determine if “tipping points” have been reached .

Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gases, both natural and man-made, create a heat-trappingblanket in our atmosphere.

How do greenhouse gases work ?

Infrared energy > 750 nm (heat) emitted from Earth is absorbed by a CO2 molecule and then re-emitted. The process continues. The vibrational frequencies of the incoming IR energy match the vibrational modes of C --- O bonds.

What are some of these greenhouse gases?

Name Chemical Formula GWP

Carbon dioxide CO2 1.0

Nitrous oxide NO 300

Methane CH4 25

Halocarbons HFCs, PFCs 5000

Methane: Further Considerations

Permafrost in the Arctic has an “active layer” which freezes in the winter and thaws during the summer producing these “drunken” Spruce trees. Partial (aerobic) decomposition of the permafrost produces CO2 as a greenhouse gas. Over millions of years the permafrost layer has grown extremely thick when new plants grew on top of the older material (cryoturbation). Now, since climate change is warming the permafrost, the active layer is moving deeper and making more of the frozen permafrost available to decomposition. Conservative estimates of available carbon is around 500 billion tons.

Production of Methane from Permafrost

When oxygen is not available, anaerobic decomposition of permafrost will occur. The carbon will combine with hydrogen (H) to produce methane (CH4).

Production of Methane

Estimated Methane Supply: 50 x what is now entering the atmosphere

Methane Greenhouse Effect on Titan

Huygens Probe to Titan

Computer Modeling of Climate Change

Climate modeling gives us a tool for exploring scenarios and interactions in predicting the impact of increased amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere. Valuable information about Earth’s climate system is gained in this manner.

Modeling Activities for Students

In education, we need to teach the principles of computer modeling. Here are some activities you can do . . . .

1

If students are old enough to work with spreadsheets and user-defined functions, you can have a contest to see who could develop the most sophisticated number model.

2

A Modeling Investigation

What is the dependent variable weare trying to model?

What are some independentvariables that might impact the amount of water that flows outof the square reservoir?

Mathematical Interpretations and Curve Fitting