Sea Ice and the Arctic Oceannewfoundland Middle School

SEA ICE AND THE ARCTIC OCEANNEWFOUNDLAND – MIDDLE SCHOOL

Sea Ice and the Arctic Ocean

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson students will be introduced to the geography of the Arctic Ocean Basin and the influence of sea ice on human and biological activity within the Arctic Ocean. Themes to be explored are the physical characteristics of sea ice, the seasonal pattern of its extent, monitoring of the ice pack and the impact of sea ice on shipping and animal habitats.

Grade Level: Intermediate (Grades 6 to 8)

Time Required: One class period

Curriculum Connection:

Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation Curriculum for Social Studies

People, Place and Environment General Curriculum Outcome:

Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the interactions among people, places and the environment.

Key Stage Outcomes:

Grade 6:

Ask geographic questions; acquire, organize and analyze geographic information; and answer geographic questions at an age-appropriate level

Use maps, globes, pictures, models and technologies to represent and describe physical and human systems

Use location, distance, scale, direction and size to describe where places are and how they are distributed.

Describe how the environment affects human activity and how human activity endangers or sustains the environment

Grade 9:

Use geographic tools, technologies and representations to interpret, pose and answer questions about the natural and human systems

Use location, distance, scale, directions, density, shape and size to describe and explain the location and distribution patterns of physical and human phenomena

Link to Canadian National Geography Standards:

Essential Element #1: TheWorld in Spatial Terms:

Distribution of major human and physical features at country and global scale (geography of the Arctic)
Map types (thematic)
Map projections (polar projection)
Expanding mental maps

Ocean Scope & Sequence Standard #1: The World in Spatial Terms:

Spatial representation and technology
Location of ocean features

Essential Element #2: Places and Regions

Ocean Scope & Sequence Standard #2: Places and Regions

Changes in places and regions over time
Characteristics of the water column

Essential Element #3: Physical Systems:

Physical processes shape patterns in the physical world (physical formation and characteristics of sea ice)
Global patterns of wind and water (geography of the Arctic Ocean)

Ocean Scope & Sequence Standard #3: Physical Systems

The biological ocean – processes and interactions

Essential Element #4: Human Systems:

Transportation and communications networks in Canada and the world (shipping through the Northwest Passage)

Ocean Scope & Sequence Standard #4: Human Systems

Oceans as barriers and conduits for trade and transportation

Essential Element #5: Environment and Society:

Limits and opportunities of the physical environment for human activities (challenges of shipping through sea ice; challenges of reaching the North Pole)
Environmental Issues (spilling of hazardous material during shipping, issues of sound on marine life)

Ocean Scope & Sequence Standard #5: Environment and Society

Ocean influence on humans and interconnections between atmosphere, land and ocean issues

Geographic Skill #2: Acquiring Geographic Information:

Use maps to collect and/or compile geographic information

Geographic Skill 3: Organizing Geographic Information:

Prepare various forms of maps as a means of organizing geographic information

Geographic Skill #4: Analyzing Geographic Information:

Interpret information obtained from maps, aerial photographs, satellite-produced images and geographic systems

Additional Resources:

Student activity sheet (blank base map of Arctic Ocean and surrounding land masses), different projection samples ofworld map on wall, globe, overhead projector, blank base map overhead, water soluble overhead pens, classroom chalk or white board, colour copies of satellite sea ice maps (one per small group of students).

Main Objectives:

The main objective of this lesson is to introduce the students to the geography of the Arctic Ocean Basin and the influence of sea ice within that basin. The use of maps and mapping skills is an important component of the lesson.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Identify the main features of the circumpolar map (Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, North Pole, Russia, Alaska, Canada, Hudson Bay, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden)
Explain, simplistically, what a polar planar projection map is showing
Explain the difference between the North Pole and North Magnetic Pole
Approximate the location of the Magnetic North Pole on a map
Describe the physical characteristics of sea ice
Create a thematic map showing the average seasonal maximum and minimum extent of sea ice from satellite data
Outline various impacts the seasonal changes in sea ice extent have on human and biological activities

Before lesson begins, a short review of the definitions of the following terms may be necessary:

LegendSatellites

CircumpolarRadar

Projection

Distortion

The Lesson:

Teacher Activity / Student Activity
Introduction / Ask students where the North Pole is. Is it in Canada?
Ask students to draw in their notebooks a map of where the North Pole is located. Tell students to make it as accurate as possible.
When maps are finished, show some examples to the class and discuss the concept of a mental map (Note: Most people in Canada have a very poor mental map of the Arctic – very few people have been there). / Draw mental map of where North Pole is located
Lesson Development / Hand out circumpolarmap activity sheets to students and project map overhead.
Ask: “What is this map showing?
Have student label North Pole on their map. Help students label Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans and surrounding countries.
Point out that the most northern portion of Canada is composed of a series of islands separated by waterways (called the Queen Elizabeth Islands). Label Baffin and Ellesmere Island.
Use the globe and wall map to explain the use of a different projection to show the Arctic (emphasize the challenge of mapping a spherical globe on a flat piece of paper and that different projections, that is the way the features are mapped, are used to show different parts of the globe)
How is it different from the world map on the wall?
Point out distortion on world map (example: Arctic Ocean is a blue line along the top; Alaska and Russia are at opposite sides of map – depends on your world map what type of distortions are most obvious)
On the circumpolar map as you move farther away from the North Pole the shape of the features being mapped get more and more distorted.
Which way is North on the circumpolar map? If you were at the North Pole, which way would your compass needle point?
Outline the difference between North Pole and Magnetic North Pole and help students locate the magnetic north pole on map.
Is the North Pole on land or in a water body? (water body – the Arctic Ocean) If it is in a water body, how do explorers and adventurers reach it?
Much of the Arctic Ocean is covered all year-round in a thick layer of sea ice.
Using chalkboard or white board, provide students with notes about sea ice (see: Sea Ice Notes).
Provide small groups (3 to 4 students) colour copies of the sea ice satellite data maps. Have students examine the maps and generate questions regarding the map.
Explain that the sea ice measurements recorded on the map were collected using satellites and radar technology,
.
Using the information from the colour maps, have students use their base maps to create a thematic map showing the seasonal minimum and maximum extent of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean.
Instruct students to think about how they want to show the information on one map and that they need to include a legend on their maps. / Listen, ask and answer questions throughout!
Label features on map
(Some students may need assistance differentiating between land and water. A guided shading of water will help.)
May be useful to have a magnetic compass here for a demonstration
Locate and label the Magnetic North Pole on map
Ask if they can describe it first to find out what they already know.
Take notes on sea ice
Lesson Development / which allows information to be collected through clouds and during the winter when the polar region is in darkness.
Using the information from the colour maps, have students use their base maps to create a thematic map showing the seasonal minimum and maximum extent of the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean.
Instruct students to think about how they want to show the information on one map and that they need to include a legend on their maps. / In small groups (3 to 4 students) examine sea ice satellite data maps
Generate questions regarding the map (example: What do the colours mean?)
Sharing the colour maps, students create their own sea ice extent map.
Students will need to decide on how they want to show the information and create a clear legend
Conclusion / The concluding activity of the lesson will be to have the class brainstorm about how the seasonal changes in sea ice extent might affect human activities (transportation; shipping; hunting; fishing) and biological activities (polar bears, seals, birds, fish, whales) / Brainstorming activity as a class about the impacts of seasonal changes to sea ice extent

Lesson Extension:

Video: The Great Adventure (2004) from the National Film Board (52 minutes)

Students could work on various research projects related to the sea ice, depending on their interests.

Potential topics are:

History of Arctic exploration (Franklin Expedition, treks to the North Pole)
Environmental impacts of shipping through the Northwest Passage
Technological challenges of shipping through sea ice (How do ice breakers work?)
Mapping of sea ice using Radarsat
Projected impacts of Global Warming on sea ice extent
Sea ice and polar marine mammals
How the Inuit live with and utilize sea ice
Research Inuit terms for sea ice

Any of the above topics could also become themes for follow-up lessons

Assessment of Student Learning:

Each student should have produced a thematic map showing the winter maximum and summer minimum of sea ice extent and be able to explain what the map is showing.

SEA ICE NOTES:

(Words in italics are not to be written on board)

Sea ice is a thin, solid layer that forms in the polar oceans

It forms a boundary between the warmer ocean and the much colder air above it

Sea ice floats because water is less dense in the solid phase than in liquid phase

(In ice, the bond between water molecules forms a net. As the ice melts, the bond is broken and the molecules become more closely packed together making liquid water more dense)

Sea ice forms from salt water but most of the salt molecules are rejected as ice forms and are washed out

(There is little room for salt molecules in the net structure of the ice; melted sea ice is an important source of freshwater for Inuit and other circumpolar people)

Many different kinds of sea ice

(Inuit have over twenty words and phrases to describe the different formations

and movements of sea ice)

First-year ice – ice that grows during one winter

(0.5 to 1m thick, usually smooth)

Multi-year ice – ice that has remained and grown over at least two winters

(3 to 5m thick, not as smooth, even less salty than first-year as remaining salts leach out over time)

Floes – large pieces of floating ice

(Unless attached to the shore (fast ice), floes can be moved around by wind, current and waves)

Leads – stretches of open water separating floes
Ridges – pile ups of sea ice where floes have collided

(Ice can get quite thick (tens of metres) both above and below the water – dangerous for ships and submarines and tricky for people traveling over the ice)

Icebergs are not sea ice

(Icebergs are pieces broken off from a glacier that extends into the sea)

Polar marine mammals such as seals and polar bears spend most of their lives on sea ice

Canadian Council for Geographic Education1

Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society