Week 3: Melting Icebergs Inquiry

Two questions were presented this week: What happens if the polar ice caps melt, and what other questions do you have about this science inquiry experience?


Based on the experiment, I am making an assumption/predication about melting icecaps.  This assumption is that the ocean will slightly recede as icecaps melt.  In the experiment, I placed ice in a bowl and filled the bowl with water.  I observed the ice as it melted and noted that the water in the bowl slightly decreased as the ice melted. I did not take exact calculations of the amount of water and ice that was used, so if I were to repeat this experiment I would take exact measurements to collect more accurate data.  Understanding the properties of water helped me predict that the ice (water that froze and therefore expanded) would easily melt without making the bowl overflow.


The fear of melting ice caps "overflowing" on our earth can be put to rest with this experiment, but there are components of melting icecaps that are concerning. The experiment does not take into account that water may be flowing into areas it never did before, for example, "in Alaska, salmon populations are at risk as melting permafrost pours mud into rivers, burying the gravel the fish need for spawning" (Kluger, 2006).  Additionally, the "ocean waters have warmed by a full degree Fahrenheit since 1970, and warmer water is like rocket fuel for typhoons and hurricanes" (Kluger, 2006). These warmer waters can also create a breeding ground for various organisms that swell in population,  jellyfish being one of them.  Whether the increase in melting icecaps is due to global warming or natural climate cycles, this experiment evokes a lot of thought and many questions through hands-on experimenting.

Questions I have about the experiment are: One, should we consider that icebergs are freshwater and the oceans are saltwater for this experiment?  This may more accurately represent the simulation in this inquiry experiment.  Two, what sort of background knowledge should we expect students to have when performing this experiment?  Three, how could I successfully implement this lesson in a fifty-five minute period that I have with my middle school students?  I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!


References

Kluger, Jeffrey. (2006). Earth at the tipping point: global warming heats up. Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1176980-6,00.html