Description
The sensitivity of the Arctic to climate change has direct consequences for human society, particularly for the indigenous peoples of arctic marginal seas. Data from arctic expeditions and atmospheric studies have documented thinning of the cold halocline that insulates the sea ice from heat stored in Atlantic intermediate waters, decreased ice extent and thickness, increased summer temperatures in both air and permafrost, increased summer ice melt, and increased UV levels from stratospheric ozone depletion. How these changes affect arctic living resources and native cultures and practices that depend on these resources is the subject of considerable research and lively discussion in the scientific community. However, very little of this information, much of which is just now appearing in the scientific literature, has been incorporated into K-12 curricula, despite the very interdisciplinary and applied nature of this global "experiment" in climate change. The goal of this project is to provide an opportunity for interactive exchange between scientists at The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) and K-12 students and teachers on issues that relate to arctic living resources and Native cultures in the context of global change.
Emphasis is placed on the following objectives;
Bring current research activities on this project into K-12 classrooms using graduate students as resource personne
Provide off-site training to K-12 teachers on arctic and global change issues through symposia, short courses and workshops
Assist K-12 teachers and students in the procurement, analysis and interpretation of published and digital resources
Introduce K-12 teachers and students to other native American cultures that are directly affected by global change