Description:
In this activity, students build on their growing knowledge of ice and glacier growth. The students examine images of core samples and make observations about the decreasing size of gas bubbles with increasing depth in the core. The students model permeability in a laboratory experiment, and graph and interpret the results. From this, they develop an understanding of the movement of air through snow and ice and why this information is critical to researchers studying the past climate of our Earth.

This activity is part of a series called, "Ice Cores: Windows to the Past." A complete list of activity titles in the series follows:

What's Under There?

Under the Ice: Imaging Glacier Bases with Sound

Making Ice Sheets (not yet online as of the date of this review)

Fluffy Snow to Glacier Ice

Coring to the Past: The Climate Record from Ice Cores (not yet online as of the date of this review)

It appears advisable to conduct these activities in sequence. All of them can be found at: http://tea.rice.edu/tea_classroommaterials.html

This activity is under development. Teachers can participate in the review process by going to the activity site on the Internet (see URL above). Scroll down to, "We look forward to hearing from you! Please review this activity" and click on that sentence.

Organization:
Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic, Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)

URL:
http://tea.rice.edu/activity/tea_activity_shutey_permeabil.html

Contact:
Email: glacier@tea.rice.edu; http://tea.rice.edu/

Cost:
Free over the Internet

Education Level:
Grades 5-8

Subject:
Chemistry
Climate Change
Glacial Geology
Polar Regions
Snow and Ice

Resource Type:
Internet Site
Curriculum/Instructional Materials
 
 

Date Added to teachearth.com:
5/1/00