Students choose shell fragments from different species of Molluscs and calculate percent …
Students choose shell fragments from different species of Molluscs and calculate percent lose after soaking in different ph solutions for different periods of time. They research ocean acidification and especially local events off the Oregon coast to apply to this activity.
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In this curriculum module, students in high school life science, marine science, …
In this curriculum module, students in high school life science, marine science, and/or chemistry courses act as interdisciplinary scientists and delegates to investigate how the changing carbon cycle will affect the oceans along with their integral populations.
The oceans cover 70 percent of the planet and play a critical role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide through the interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes. As a result of anthropogenic activity, a doubling of the atmospheric CO2 concentration (to 760 ppm) is expected to occur by the end of this century. A quarter of the total CO2 emitted has already been absorbed by the surface oceans, changing the marine carbonate system, resulting in a decrease in pH, a change in carbonate-ion concentrations, and a change in the speciation of macro and micronutrients. The shift in the carbonate system is already drastically affecting biological processes in the oceans and is predicted to have major consequences on carbon export to the deep ocean with reverberating effects on atmospheric CO2. Put in simple terms, ocean acidification is a complex phenomenon with complex consequences. Understanding complexity and the impact of ocean acidification requires systems thinking – both in research and in education. Scientific advancement will help us better understand the problem and devise more effective solutions, but executing these solutions will require widespread public participation to mitigate this global problem.
Through these lessons, students closely model what is occurring in laboratories worldwide and at Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) through Monica Orellana’s research to analyze the effect CO2 has on ocean chemistry, ecosystems and human societies. Students experiment, analyze public data, and prepare for a mock summit to address concerns. Student groups represent key “interest groups” and design two experiments to observe the effects of CO2 on seawater pH, diatom growth, algal blooms, nutrient availability, and/or shell dissolution.
This activity is designed to be used as a jigsaw. Although each …
This activity is designed to be used as a jigsaw. Although each component could be individually used as desired. The activity is meant to be conducted in a three-phase approach.
Phase 1 involves small groups of "experts" focusing on one of our narrow topics related to ocean acidification. Students work together, using the Internet as necessary, to complete a short 10-15 minute activity while the instructor roams the room to clarify issues that arise.
Phase 2 involves small groups made up of one "expert" from each of the expert groups. This interdisciplinary group will work through a short 10-15 minute activity that encompasses the knowledge from each of the "experts" while the instructor roams the room to clarify issues that arise.
Phase 3 involves the entire class as a whole and to discuss and reflect upon the findings from each interdisciplinary group. The instructor leads this discussion.
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This model of ocean-atmosphere interaction shows how carbon dioxide gas diffuses into …
This model of ocean-atmosphere interaction shows how carbon dioxide gas diffuses into water, causing the water to become more acidic. The video demonstration and instruction provide an explanation of the chemistry behind this change and the consequences of ocean acidification. The video also addresses a misconception about how ocean acidification affects shelled organisms.
In this lab students explore data for examining both surface and deep …
In this lab students explore data for examining both surface and deep ocean circulation. It is done in a lab setting and usually takes ~2.5 hours.
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Laboratory exercise to explore water density, surface ocean currents, and ocean circulation …
Laboratory exercise to explore water density, surface ocean currents, and ocean circulation
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This activity is a Google Slides playlist that will introduce fluctuations in …
This activity is a Google Slides playlist that will introduce fluctuations in thermohaline circulation, and potential impacts of changes in these patterns. This playlist is suitable for use in remote, hybrid, or in-person instruction and can easily be added to a Learning Management System.
Provenance: Molly Ludwick, Kings Mountain Middle School Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
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In this classroom activity, students access sea surface temperature and wind speed …
In this classroom activity, students access sea surface temperature and wind speed data from a NASA site, plot and compare data, draw conclusions about surface current and sea surface temperature, and link their gained understanding to concerns about global climate change.
This teaching activity provides a visual framework for understanding the relationship/connection between …
This teaching activity provides a visual framework for understanding the relationship/connection between ocean gyre circulation and primary productivity. Students demonstrate their own understanding of surface circulation in ocean gyres and how it is related to broad patterns of global primary productivity by completing a schematic sea surface map and sea surface profile of the Atlantic Ocean. This simple in-class activity allows students to recognize any misconceptions they have about the relationship/connection between surface circulation and primary productivity and to correct them.
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This lesson explores El Niño by looking at sea surface temperature, sea …
This lesson explores El Niño by looking at sea surface temperature, sea surface height, and wind vectors in order to seek out any correlations there may be among these three variables using the My NASA Data Live Access Server. The lesson guides the students through data representing the strong El Niño from 1997 to 1998. In this way, students will model the methods of researchers who bring their expertise to study integrated science questions.
In this activity, students are presented with a satellite image of ocean …
In this activity, students are presented with a satellite image of ocean temperature, and examine the map to determine whether ocean temperature is influenced by latitude. Students graph each temperature value as a function of latitude and write a linear equation that best fits the points on their graph. A student worksheet is provided. Summary background information, data and images supporting the activity are available on the Earth Update data site. To complete the activity, students will need to access the Space Update multimedia collection, which is available for download and purchase for use in the classroom.
Make an ocean in a bottle. Activity from Weekly STEM in a …
Make an ocean in a bottle. Activity from Weekly STEM in a Bag. Colorado Americorp agents in Araphahoe, Denver, Garfield, Larimer, and Weld Counties. Work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service under Americorps grant number 18AFHCO0010008. Opinions or points of view expressed in this lesson are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of or a position that is endorsed by the Corporation or the Americorps program. This resource is also available in Spanish in the linked file.
This wiki is a collaboration between current and former students at UC …
This wiki is a collaboration between current and former students at UC Davis, with Professor Tessa Hill. Content will include a broad survey of oceanography, including geological, chemical, physical and biological aspects, as well as significant content on major issues in Oceanography and human impacts on this environment. Oceanography is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean and covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries.
This textbook outlines the major processes and features of the world's oceans. …
This textbook outlines the major processes and features of the world's oceans. Content starts with a review of important fundamentals of the natural and physical science related to oceanography. Following chapters focus on Earth history and evolution of life through time.
Students explore online data, maps, webcams, and articles from specific US locations …
Students explore online data, maps, webcams, and articles from specific US locations to understand and visualize the oceanographic phenomena of that location. Through the worksheet, students will learn to explore online resources to gather data on a particular topic, and practice making observations of scientific phenomena. Through the writing assignment, students learn to synthesize observations into scientific explorations, draw together ideas and relate to course concepts, and reflect on their learning process.
This video introduces phytoplankton - the base of the marine food web, …
This video introduces phytoplankton - the base of the marine food web, the source of half of the oxygen on Earth, and an important remover of CO2 from the atmosphere. The video also explains how satellites are used to monitor phytoplankton and how warming waters and acidification negatively affect phytoplankton.
This unit allows students to investigate past changes in Earth's climate. Students …
This unit allows students to investigate past changes in Earth's climate. Students first explore relationships in climate data such as temperature, solar radiation, carbon dioxide, and biodiversity. They then investigate solar radiation in more depth to learn about changes over time such as seasonal shifts. Students then learn about mechanisms for exploring past changes in Earth's climate such as ice cores, tree rings, fossil records, etc. Finally, students tie all these together by considering the feedbacks throughout the Earth system and reviewing an article on a past mass extinction event.
This activity orally tests students understanding of the links between ocean processes …
This activity orally tests students understanding of the links between ocean processes and global climate change. It is set up as a debate with students serving as the science experts and volunteer faculty serving as the opposition team.
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An introductory environmental science project tasking students with comparing offshore oil and …
An introductory environmental science project tasking students with comparing offshore oil and wind power development.
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In this activity, students learn about ocean currents and the difference between …
In this activity, students learn about ocean currents and the difference between salt and fresh water. They use colored ice cubes to see how cold and warm water mix and how this mixing causes currents. Also, students learn how surface currents occur due to wind streams. Lastly, they learn how fresh water floats on top of salt water, the difference between water in the ocean and fresh water throughout the planet, and how engineers are involved in the design of ocean water systems for human use.
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