Thwaites Explorer

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
  There is not a teacher guide, but this would be nicely implemented as an exploration of the effects of climate change on a specific glacier. The interactive is not stand alone, it should be embedded in a learning activity to help illustrate important concepts in glaciology, climate change, and Antarctica. Users in education will want to refer to the questions in the informative webpage summary that describe what to do with each interactive and what to look for. It allows students to learn about real research and how data is collected and analyzed to draw conclusions. Suggest instructors consult the webpage associated with each interactive map to develop questions to guide student exploration and provide additional instructions. An example topic: history of the Thwaites sea ice thickness. This would cover Thwaites is thinning -> 20,000 years of ice sheet history -> ITGC projects -> GHC dot. Each research project in the interactive webapp has more information and blog posts at the ITGC website, which can be incorporated into a larger discussion of how research is done in Antarctica.
• About the Science
  Examination of this resource - including the 14 interactive maps, the explanatory text boxes and associated web pages - provide a clear description of the complex response of a sensitive region of Antarctica, Thwaites Glacier, to changes in the global climate system. Examination of the series of interactives in this resource provides a compelling picture of the important role that Antarctic ice plays on ocean temperature and sea level rise, and on the global climate system, as well as a view of how multi and transdisciplinary research is necessary when trying to solve problems in Earth system science. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
• About the Pedagogy
  Interactive provides opportunity for learner to explore the features of the Thwaites glacier and the role of glacial ice on ocean temperature. Use of this resource is limited to upper high school or undergraduate level, especially due to undefined vocabulary (eg. the black outline is the "catchment" of the Thwaites glacier, but catchment is undefined). Examining the series of interactive resources is a deep dive beyond what is expected in NGSS standards, but will convey to the learner that changes in Antarctic ice have important consequences to both ocean temperature and sea level as well as the Earth's climate system. This resource can be better described as a public facing report on federally funded research, rather than a resource created with pedagogy in mind. View this as a way to access a series of maps and interactive elements, including audio descriptions, showing how multi- and trans-disciplinary science investigations are needed to solve problems of importance to our future in a warming climate. It also has links to detailed descriptions of the projects where learners can explore more.
• Technical Details/Ease of Use
  Each interactive is clearly described with an accompanying question and a pop up information box. The info icon directs to a web page that provides useful information, such as "What should we look for in the map?" or "How do we use the app?"