Ice Mass and Sea Level Changes

Geodesy Tools for Societal Issues

In this activity, students interpret geodetic data from Greenland to assess spatial patterns and magnitudes of ice mass change and consider mechanisms and timescales for ice mass loss. They also investigate the relationship between ice mass change and global and regional sea level with an emphasis on the ongoing and future implications of sea level change on civilization, including places in the Global South and the differing abilities of countries to tackle these changes.

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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 which include the pace, additional discussion questions, and optional extended activities are noted throughout the curriculum. Instructors will need to consider the time investment they would like to make and their familiarity with the topic before jumping into this module. The material is well-designed and interactive as are the teacher guides, but the time commitment to work through the entire module is substantial. Teachers may want to find updated resources for older data or references.
This resource consists of 5 units that aim to teach concepts related to glacial melt and sea-level rise. This resource is appropriate for introductory geology, oceanography, meteorology, and other environmental or geoscience courses. Citations are clearly annotated and include a mix of articles, IPCC assessments, and NASA datasets from 2000-2013. Concepts of scientific trends, data analysis, and social vulnerability in the context of climate change are very relevant regardless of publishing dates. This is a strong module that brings in data and various analysis methods for students to work through in order to better understand climate change. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
Includes a variety of lesson materials including reports/articles, videos, worksheets, raw datasets in addition to Powerpoint files that includes lesson materials and graphs to support in-class review of materials from student activities. This lesson plan is complete in scope and easy to implement in a university classroom setting. The module may take several weeks to complete. The units within the module may be completed as standalone units. This module is designed for undergraduate students and the lessons/activities specify whether they are built for majors or non-majors. It will be important for instructors to thoroughly study the teaching materials before working through them with their class and to make sure they can demonstrate the techniques described to work through the data provided. There is enough pedagogical support that this should be possible, it will just require a time investment by instructors.
All student worksheets, classroom slide decks, and associated discussion activities are organized and easy to find within each unit. Answer keys are available through a link to confirm educator status to prohibit student downloads. Because some of the datasets mentioned are 5-10 years old, instructors should double check links before presenting to the class. Some of the "additional resources/references" are broken, but alternatives may be found if desired.