Lesson overview

Measuring the thickness of sea ice has not been possible via satellite until very recently and even now the Cryosat satellite can only survey up to a latitude of 88° north and south. The other way to measure sea ice thickness is by hand, walking for days across the frozen ocean in temperatures down to -40°C. Students will learn how the data they will be studying was collected.

Learning outcomes

• Understand that measuring sea ice thickness is difficult and important
• Understand what it would be like to be an Arctic explorer
• Get familiar with the techniques used for collecting snow and ice thickness data
• Demonstrate understanding of the realities of remote field research
• Debate the issue of what kind of people can collect scientific data

Lesson steps

1. Can you tell how thick the ice is? (10 mins)
   Satellite imagery is able to show sea ice extent. Show pupils the European Space Agency (ESA) CryoSat Mission
   http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/CryoSat/Sea_ice. However, it is much harder to determine sea ice thickness via satellite. Another option is to collect the data by hand. Introduce pupils to the Catlin Arctic Survey 2009. If the ice is thinning, then it will be more susceptible to increased melt rates. Student Sheet 6a can be used to promote classroom discussion about the importance of the expedition.
2. Life on an Arctic expedition (10 mins)
   Show pupils series of images from the gallery and videos that shows what a day in the life of an Arctic expedition is like.
3. Data collection in the Arctic (5 mins)
   The data set on snow and ice thickness was mostly collected by hand, drilling into the ice using a hand drill. The videos ‘Drilling the ice’ show how the data was collected.
4. A day in the life (25 mins)
   Pupils create a presentation of the day in the life of an Arctic expedition. They can use a slideshow programme, a Twitter board (Student Sheet 2b), a blog post (Student Sheet 2c) or a storyboard for a short video (Student Sheet 2d).
5. Plenary (10 mins)
   Pose these questions for class debate: Why do you think that there were no scientists on the expedition? What might have been the advantages and disadvantages of just having experienced polar explorers?

England

GCSE Geography

• Locational knowledge
  Recognition of important links and inter-relationships between places and environments at a range of scales from local to global.

• Maps, fieldwork and geographical skills
  Use a range of maps, atlases, Ordnance Survey maps, satellite imagery, and other graphic and digital material including the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), to obtain, illustrate, analyse and evaluate geographical information.
  The effective presentation, communication, and evaluation of data.

• Place: processes and relationships
  Environmental challenges of the Arctic.
  The relationship of the Arctic with the wider world.
  Importance of the oceans.

• Physical geography: processes and change
  The spatial and temporal characteristics, of climatic change and evidence for different causes, including human activity.

USA

National Geography Standards Grades 9-12

• The World in Spatial Terms
  Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
• Places and Regions
  Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places.
• Physical Systems
  Standard 8: The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface.