Investigating Climate Change at a Macroscopic and Microscopic Level

Amy Rouinfar, PhET

This activity uses two interactive simulations to illustrate climate change, 1) at the micro/molecular level - modeling the impact of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere on surface temperature and 2) at the macro level - modeling changes in glacier thickness and flow as a result of rising surface temperature.

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Notes from our reviewers

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Educator should definitely familiarize her/himself with the simulations before using them with students. Students should be encouraged to partner and experiment with simulations (adjusting parameters, etc) before beginning the activity. This exercise, also from the PhET site, could be used to guide students as they learn to use the Greenhouse Effect simulation: [link https://phet.colorado.edu/en/contributions/view/4110]
Activity addresses impacts of increasing global temperatures at the molecular level (relationship between increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere and rise in surface temperature) and macro level (changes in glaciers) through two interactive PhET simulations: "Glaciers" and "Greenhouse Effect". Comments from expert scientist: Strengths: - Effective in exploring the causes and effects of increasing global temperature. - Effectively covers the idea of glacier retreat and advance and the processes behind them that can be understood by the intended audience - Both simulations and the corresponding questions do a good job of exploring how these processes have changed over time (from ice age to present day). Suggestions: - Additional background knowledge of glacier mass balance could help explain why snowfall/increased temperatures affect the health of a glacier. - There is a very clear animation of glacier advance and retreat however there is no indication of how it changes the surrounding landscape. For example, when glaciers advance geomorphological features form such as moraines and eskers. - Discuss albedo to further understand the link between glacier and greenhouse gases.
Activity is guided by questions that prompt students to play with the simulations, observe interactions among variables as they adjust parameters, and make claims about relationships among variables. Two well-designed and easy-to-use simulations guide the activity: 1) "Glaciers": provides introductory and advanced levels to explore climate change at the macroscopic level. 2) "The Greenhouse Effect": provides three separate interactive tabs (greenhouse effect, gas layers, photon absorption) to explore climate change at the microscopic level. Simulations may be confusing at first blush but offer good opportunity for students to discuss what they observe and help each other make sense of the interactions modeled in the simulations. Supportive information, including a lesson plan, is available from the website (no help, teacher, or student guide).
Technical requirements for running the simulations are included here [link https://phet.colorado.edu/en/help-center/running-sims/mac#q16-header] PhET requires free registration to access simulations and supporting resources. Simulations can be run online, embedded, or downloaded. The Java-based app is sometimes blocked by Gatekeeper on Apple devices. It is safe to open. Here is how PhET suggests to troubleshoot the problem: Right-click to open the simulation once (with administrative privileges) which would allow subsequent launches to be done without administrative privileges.