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Global Warming.. it’s cold.

Ironically, we we’re looking at Global Warming this week, it’s a cold snap here for overseas readers. During our first lesson we constructed a diagram to show both the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming, after watching a clip from Futurama, the one also used in Gore’s film, for inspiration. This was originally shown in the episode ‘Crimes of the Hot’.

We then talked at length about the causes of global warming, this naturally lead to the relative merits of renewable and non-renewable energy resources. Sadly, I felt I had to curtail this a bit, despite your brilliant inferences, as we debate the merits of nuclear and wind power. After rounding this off, we then played a Grade or No Grade game. No higher grade sadly.

I was a bit disappointed in the double lesson the following day. We began with our ’starter for ten’ using the ‘Global Warming Blues song’ by Lenny Solomon, great lyrics and raised a few smiles and jigs! Great man, check out his website.I also found out the network doesn’t like DVD paused and PowerPoint playing sound at the same time!

Our aim then was to consider the future impact of Global Warming on Antarctica. We studied ten different sources, five extracts from new articles, four B.B.C. clips and the Antarctica section from Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’. To be honest I lead this too much, also the cold outside, the warmth of inside and the dim of the lights ….Zzzz….Zzzz. Next time, I think I’ll split this over two lesson. To be honest, your application was very good, but I should have let you loose on the task.

Hopefully though, we gained a number of points from the task.

Remember the future of Antarctica in relation to global warming is a bit complex… and we are making predictions, based on the data today.

Let’s look at ice…

Warmer temperatures may results in the thickening of the ice sheet in the interior, as warmer temperatures will encourage greater moisture in the air, therefore higher precipitation.
But at the same time, ice shelves are disintegrating faster due to warmer sea temperatures, this is causing the faster movement of the ice sheets. In some areas the ice shelves have acted as ‘dams’, limiting the flow of the ice sheets.
Ice sheet movement into the ocean will/is causing sea-level rise.
But this sea-level rise may also result in the dilution of the salinity of the oceans, and hence impact on the ocean currents, this may have a big impact, particularly on climate.
Also increased iceberg production has issues for shipping and for nature. See notes below.
In some areas, glaciers are retreating with the warming climate, whilst in others, melt water is increasing the speed of the glaciers, through basal slippage.

Now the dry valleys…

These are presently cooling.
Because a thinning of the ice sheet is resulting in post-glacial rebound, they are rising.
But this is impacting on carbon dioxide extracting organisms, such as nematodes, that fix and convert carbon dioxide within the soil. Basically, they are declining in numbers.
But in the future, a global rise in temperature would see the Dry Valleys potentially warming again, melting the permafrost and releasing carbon dioxide.

Now Oceans…

Warmer oceans means changing ecology.
Warmer oceans also means faster disintegration of the ice shelves.
But not all Antarctica is land, some of the sea makes contact with the base of the ice sheet, for example between islands, therefore speeding melting.
A bit of a potential double hit, more ocean and less ice, means less albedo and more heating…
Also the volume of water increases with an increase in temperature, therefore again suggesting greater possibility of flooding events.
Remember the ocean also naturally absorbs carbon dioxide, more carbon dioxide, means greater acidification- back to point one for oceans.

Now flora and fauna…

A warming climate means invasive species are beginning to colonise Antarctica, currently those transported via ship.
The Southern Ocean, the boundary that has left the seas around Antarctica isolated, has resulted in the top ecological niche having some strange and unique creatures, that won’t cope with any new neighbours or potential predators.
Where there was been a significant melting on land, plant colonisation has begun, particularly mosses and lichens.
Land-based penguin are struggling, increased iceberg production is leading to a short-term impact on the continent, but which could have a devastating impact on penguin colonies long-term. Icebergs are crashing into the landmass, this disrupts the penguins, firstly because there is more distance to travel to the open ocean, and secondly they can’t find a suitable way over the impact sites. They become trapped, resulting in death from malnutrition.
Sea-based penguins are thriving though, as the oceans become less dominated by ice, particularly during the winter months.
On the other hand, Krill stocks are declining, partly because of over fishing and partly because they depend on sea ice. Krill is one of the bottom niches of Antarctica’s ecological food chain, take them away and… you get the rest…

So I hope that’s clear… :O

Finally at the end, we just had time to prep a card sorting exercise, on the wider potential positive and negative impacts of global warming to the U.K. and the rest of the world.

Elsewhere in the geogblogsphere,

You may be interested in Tom Biebrach’s blog at the moment, he is currently visiting a link school in Zambia, it makes for fascinating reading. 64 in a class.

You might also want to check out this post by Noel Jenkins on his student blog, he links to a resource providing information about the origin of places names in the U.K. , it might be interesting to look up Ilkeston, before we begin My Place. How does Ilkeston’s name reflect the topography of the land?

On Noel’s another blog, Juicy Geography’s Google Earth, there is a post about HMS Endurance, which I blogged about earlier in the course. It seems someone in the Google Earth community has produced a resource worth having a look at, a job for the weekend.

Noel has also highlighted this piece of work that may come in useful for teachers planning the People as Consumers unit. Also a bit of a plug for this blog and Alan’s.

Also a new student geography blog, check out abblanchgeography, though you may have to wait, because it seems that blogger is down at the moment.

Well, I’m off to the dentist again tomorrow, and it is my duty day, which obviously means four-foot of snow, because last week it was flooding!

Off to throw more coursework on the fire.