Initial Publication Date: August 20, 2019
UGC Sea Level Rise Unit
Download Unit Materials:
Sea Level Rise Unit Planning Guide (Acrobat (PDF) 2.7MB Aug21 19)
Sea Level Rise Unit Materials (Zip Archive 55.6MB Aug21 19)
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Summary
Sea level rise is a measurable, observable change in the Earth system that affects coastal ecosystems and human populations. This unit explores the causes, consequences, and mitigation of sea level rise. Through activities, datasets, and Earth system modeling, learners construct explanations about how the water cycle, greenhouse effect, and human activities are connected to this phenomenon.Context for Use
Grade Level: High School (adaptable for Middle School)
Class: Integrated Earth & Life Science
Instructional Time: 4-5 weeks
Learning Objectives
Students will ...
- Analyze data to understand how changes in the greenhouse effect and water cycle caused by human activities have resulted in global sea level rise (HS-ESS2-2)
- Construct explanations based on evidence that sea level rise due to anthropogenic climate change affects human populations around the world (HS-ESS3-1).
CLEAN Resources Used in this Unit
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Water, water everywhere
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NOAA Data in the Classroom: Understanding Sea Level
- What-a-cycle
- Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
- What's Really Warming the World?
- How Global Warming Works
- It's Us
- Carbon Calculator Activity
- Thermal Expansion and Sea Level Rise
- Sea Level Rise Viewer
- Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
Datasets Used in this Unit
- Sea Level Trends, NOAA
- U.S. Sea Level Trend Map, NOAA
- Climate Change: Global Sea Level, NOAA Climate.gov
- 2013 State of the climate: Mountain glaciers, NOAA Climate.gov
- Happening Now: Arctic Sea Ice Sets Record Low, NOAA
- Glacier Monitoring, Kenai Fjords National Park
- Arctic Glacier Mass Balance, GlobalChange.gov
- Unprecedented Arctic warmth in 2016 triggers massive decline in sea ice, snow, NOAA
- Climate Change: Global Sea Level, NOAA Climate.gov