Science Concepts—Climate vs Weather Summary: Sometimes people who are trying to understand climate change have asked the question, “How could the planet be warming given that it is so cold outside today?” Weather and climate are not the same thing. Weather is what’s happening outside your window; atmospheric conditions that you can see, feel or […]
Planning—The Fragile Fringe Summary: Coastal salt marshes may be at risk when sea level changes at a rate that is more rapid than normal. While coastal wetlands usually build up sediments and vegetation at rates similar to the rates that they subside (sink) or erode, the expected rate of sea level rise over the next […]
Planning—Shoreline Structure Summary: How do different types of shoreline react to flooding and sea level rise? In this topic guide, students learn about various “hard” and “soft” features of coastal shorelines and how wetlands can help control flooding. As a field experience, students examine characteristics of a shoreline and predict its resiliency to sea level […]
Impacts—The New Waterfront Summary: Climate induced sea level rise can lead to erosion and flooding events that threaten natural and human communities, establish new coastlines, and change ecosystems. What are the predicted impacts of sea level rise for a given area on the Oregon coast? Concepts to teach: Crosscutting Concepts Stability and Change Disciplinary Core […]
Impacts—Melting Ice Summary: One indicator of climate change is the increased melting of ice on sea and on land. Students view scientific data showing the extent of ice in the Arctic to see how the amounts have changed over time. They then conduct an experiment to demonstrate which masses of melting ice contribute most to […]
Science Concepts—Thermal Expansion Summary: As the ocean’s temperature increases, its volume expands. In this topic guide, students use a model to demonstrate the relationship between water temperature and volume, and then use their findings to describe the impact a warming ocean has on sea level. Concepts to teach: Crosscutting Concepts Cause and Effect Disciplinary Core […]
Science Concepts—Sea Level Summary: One consequence of climate change is sea level rise. In order to determine whether global sea level is changing, scientists must be able to understand natural temporal and spatial sea level variability. In this topic guide, students will use online data to learn about how sea level is measured, and how […]
Science Concepts—Ocean Temperature Summary: Water has a much higher heat capacity than air, and the ocean absorbs 90% of the heat energy trapped by greenhouse gases. As the planet warms, the amount of heat stored in the world’s oceans increases. This topic guide provides resources that support student learning about ocean heat capacity and how […]
Stewardship—Protected Areas Summary: Marine resources can be conserved through the establishment of National Marine Sanctuaries, Marine Protected Areas, and other protections. Students will learn about the importance of and controversies surrounding these protected areas. Concepts to teach: National Marine Sanctuary, Marine Protected Area, conservation Goals: Students learn about spatial planning issues affecting marine environments in […]
Stewardship—Bycatch Reduction Summary: The You’re Excluded topic guide in the previous section helps students learn about the concept of population ecology and sustainability in fishing practices. The activity ends with a stewardship component, highlighted here, which challenges students to devise solution that reduces bycatch. Concepts to teach: Bycatch, excluder, trawl, iterative, efficiency, selectivity, engineering design […]