Whither Arctic Sea Ice?

Betsy Youngman, Earth Exploration Toolbook Chapter

In this activity students work with real datasets to investigate a real situation regarding disappearing Arctic sea ice. The case study has students working side-by-side with a scientist from the National Snow and Ice Data Center and an Inuit community in Manitoba.

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Notes from our reviewers

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Be sure to use the "real scientist" context to hook students. Create small groups of students to work through the activity; each group needs at least one technically advanced student to support others who may struggle. Activity might be a good candidate for a science project or science fair given the scope of the chapter and the time it takes to do it thoroughly. Educator might also be able to "chunk the chapter" and do some as a demo to reduce the overall time required. Educator needs to invest time required to determine extent to which the chapter can be used in class.
The activity provides a hands-on case study that illustrates changes in Arctic sea ice cover and its relationship to surface temperature data. The activity is well motivated, clearly organized and interesting. It should provide students with a deeper appreciation for ongoing changes in the arctic system and how scientists use a variety of data sources, including remote sensing model reanalysis, etc., to understand these changes. It also provides interesting context on how the changes identified and discussed through this activity may have other repercussions for wildlife and people in the region. Structure of activity involves many detailed steps to access, download, display, and analyze data - may be engaging for some students and overwhelm others.