November 20-December 3, 2014 Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event: More Bad News from Antarctica
The latest study of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has provided more strong evidence of the devastating effects of global warming. The 21-year study found that the melting rate of the ice in the already unstable Amundsen Sea region tripled from 2003 to 2009. A number of studies have revealed that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which contains Antarctica’s fastest-flowing ice, is warming much faster than scientists had estimated and that melting there has accelerated significantly since the early 1990′s. The scientists calculated that the region has shed an amount of ice equal to Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, every two years for the past 21 years. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is especially vulnerable to climate change, in part, because most of the ice sheet lies on terrain that is an average of 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) below sea level. As a result, the leading edges, or tongues, of the glaciers float on seawater. When a glacier melts, its grounding line–the point where a glacier attaches to underlying terrain and begins to float–also retreats. Nearly all the melting takes place on the underside of a glacier beyond the grounding line, where the ice comes into contact with warm seawater.
Objective:
Antarctica is the coldest, highest, brightest, driest, and windiest continent on Earth. Temperatures there almost never rise above 32 °F (0 °C). Bright ice and snow cover 98 percent of the continent. The South Pole, Earth’s southernmost point, lies near the center of Antarctica. Antarctica covers about 5.4 million square miles (14 million square kilometers). Surrounding the continent is the Southern Ocean, which connects the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. Only a few small plants and insects can survive in Antarctica’s interior. But many animals thrive in and near the surrounding waters, including fish, tiny shellfish called krill, seals, whales, penguins, and other sea birds. Antarctica was first sighted in 1820. The Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911. Today, scientists maintain year-round research stations in Antarctica. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore Antarctica.
Words to know:
Discussion Topics:
1. Antarctica is one of the Earth’s seven continents. Ask your students to name the other six continents. (Students should say Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Note: Europe is technically not a continent, but a peninsula of Asia.)
2. Ask your students to debate, “Global warming is the biggest threat that humans are facing right now.”
3. Ask your students to discuss, “If global warming is not reversed, how will our lives be different in the future?”