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Changing Planet: Permafrost Gas Leak
http://www.windows2universe.org/teacher_resources/permafrost_gas_leak.html&edu=high

Missy Holzer, Jennifer Bergman, Roberta Johnson, NESTA/Windows to the Universe

This is a multi-faceted activity that offers students a variety of opportunities to learn about permafrost and the role of methane in thawing permafrost.

Activity takes about four 45 min lessons (3-part activity and 30 min discussion).

Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»


Climate Literacy

This Activity builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines

1. Questioning, Analysis and Interpretation Skills:C) Collecting information
Other materials addressing:
C) Collecting information.
1. Questioning, Analysis and Interpretation Skills:E) Organizing information
Other materials addressing:
E) Organizing information.
2. Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems:2.1 The Earth as a Physical System:A) Processes that shape the Earth
Other materials addressing:
A) Processes that shape the Earth.
2. Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems:2.2 The Living Environment:D) Flow of matter and energy
Other materials addressing:
D) Flow of matter and energy.

Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

  • Educators will need to familiarize themselves with websites associated with the various parts of the activity ahead of time, in addition to the worksheets and various data sets.

About the Content

  • As permafrost thaws, the land, atmosphere, water resources, ecosystems, and human communities are affected.
  • Background and data sources are National Snow and Ice Data Center and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
  • Comments from expert scientist: The activity sheet and teacher reference do not have much information themselves, and instead refers students to websites with a strong reputation such as the National Snow and Ice Data Centre, University of Alaska at Fairbanks, NOAA and Arctic Portal. In terms of handling, exploring and displaying primary data, this activity is excellent.

About the Pedagogy

  • Activity can be done in parts or as a whole; components include a video, background reading, demos, map analysis, and borehole data analysis.
  • Students learn about composition of permafrost, identify the spatial distribution of permafrost, interpret borehole data and recognize trends in data, and analyze methane data and correlate it to the permafrost data.
  • There are a lot of supporting materials for teachers, including multiple suggestions for extension activities.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

Entered the Collection: April 2013 Last Reviewed: October 2016

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