Download REVIEW SHEET - Collaborations

REVIEW SHEET – M3 Climate Change
‘
Climate Change in Canada
I am able to
 explain the difference between weather
and climate
identify and explain the impact of at least
3 changes that the Inuvialuit community of
Sachs Harbour is experiencing (in Canada’s
arctic that are due to climate change.
 explain what is meant by Traditional
Ecological Knowledge, giving an example to
help clarify my explanation
 show how show how Traditional Ecological
Knowledge is affecting the role of First
Nations people in environmental decisionmaking
 identify and expand on the implications of
at least 2 potential impacts of climate
change on the Physical Environment of
Canada’s north
 identify and expand on the implications of
at least 2 potential impacts of climate
change on the Natural Ecosystems of
Canada’s north
 identify and expand on the implications of
at least 3 potential impacts of climate
change on the Socio-Economic environment
of Canada’s north
 identify and explain a relevant potential
impacts of climate change on each of the 7
regions in Canada (Nunavut, Yukon & NWT,
BC, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic
provinces)
 identify (and justify why) the Canadian
region that you think will be most hurt by
climate change
 identify (and justify why) the Canadian
region that you think will benefit most by
climate change
 identify and describe indicators of global
climate change (e.g., changes in: glacial and
polar ice, sea levels, wind patterns, global
carbon budget assessments)
 compare different perspectives and/or
biases evident in discussions of climate
change in scientific and non‑scientific
media
Individuals and Climate Change
I am able to
 explain how one would go about
determining one’s ecological footprint
 identify and explain at least 3 things that
I, as an individual, can do to reduce my
(and hopefully others’) contributions to
the greenhouse effect.
 explain what a reality rating is and why it is
important to use this when setting goals
 be able to analyze the effectiveness of
certain initiatives to address climate change
(e.g. how would you know that an action is
making a difference?
demonstrate an understanding that if I and
my family conserve energy in our home and
with our transportation, we can cut down the
production of greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse Effect and Greenhouse Gases
I am able to
 identify the layers of the atmosphere
(troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,
thermosphere, ionosphere) in order.
indicate the relative “thicknesses” of each
of the atmospheric layers
relate a common phenomenon to each
atmospheric layer (e.g. where birds fly)
define the term “greenhouse effect”
 describe the greenhouse effect
incorporating the roles of the earth’s
surface, the sun, the atmosphere, clouds,
ozone layer, water vapour & CO2
 explain the role of radiation as means of
energy transfer in the greenhouse effect
1
 distinguish between the natural
 explain how the biological processes of
greenhouse effect and the enhanced (or
anthropogenic) greenhouse effect
 give an advantage of the natural
greenhouse effect
 define anthropogenic
 define albedo using examples of different
types of earth surfaces as clarification
examples
 explain how albedo affects the earth’s
temperature
 explain the consequences of melting ice
caps and glaciers with respect to albedo
 identify CO2, methane, water vapour and
CFC’s as greenhouse gases
 state the roles of the industrial revolution
and the increased use of automobiles in
the late 1950’s on to greenhouse gas
concentrations
 identify then briefly explain the energy
transformations that occur after solar
rays hit the earth’s atmosphere
 explain what happens when the infrared
energy leaving earth hits CO2 in the
troposphere
 explain what happens to the amount of
energy kept in the troposphere when the
CO2 concentration is increased
 describe the role of stratospheric ozone
 describe the impact of
chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) on
stratospheric ozone
 identify the pattern of CFC
concentrations in the stratosphere and
explain what the concentration has been
decreasing over the last 20 -30 years
photosynthesis and respiration are part of
the carbon cycle
 briefly explain the role of forest fires and
volcanic explosions to the carbon cycle
 sketch and label a diagram of the carbon
cycle
 explain how humans have contributed to the
carbon cycle
 identify the following as carbon sinks: oceans,
soils, sediments, rocks and fossil fuels.
 explain how oceans, soils, sediments, rocks
and fossil fuels act as carbon sinks.
 identify the following as carbon sources:
respiration, land-use change, energy,
transport, industry and biomass burning.
 explain how respiration, land-use change,
energy, transport, industry and biomass
burning act as carbon sources.
Thermal Energy
I am able to
 explain how the sun is the primary source of
energy for the Earth’s climate system
explain the processes of heat transfer known
as radiation and convection
 explain the role of density in fluid circulation
(e.g. when fluids heat up)
 explain the role of oceans in absorbing
radiation from the sun in terms of their
surface area on the globe
 explain how the large specific heat capacity
of water allows for maximum thermal energy
absorption and storage
 explain heat transfer in the hydrosphere and
atmosphere and its effects on air and water
currents
Global Oceanic Circulation
Carbon Cycle, Sinks & Sources
I am able to
 describe thermohaline circulation
 explain what happens to equatorial waters
as they absorb solar thermal energy
I am able to
 identify the components of the geological
carbon cycle
2
 explain what happens to the warm water
 describe how to tell the age of a tree
when it reaches the poles and how the
salinity of the water increases as it cools
 explain what drives thermohaline
circulation
 indicate my awareness that the surface
currents are a result of the deep
thermohaline circulation as well as the
Coriolis effect
 define “Coriolis effect”
 explain how the Coriolis Effect influences
ocean circulation
using tree rings
 explain why biologists use tree cores
rather than tree cookies to study past
climate history
 explain that trees grow more in cool, wet
years rather than hot ones
 briefly explain how ice cores are obtained
 state at least 4 types of information that
scientists can obtain from ice cores
 explain what a lower pH of an ice core
sample would be interpreted by scientists
 explain what a thicker section of an ice
core indicates about the weather at that
time
 give 2 reasons for particulate matter in an
ice core
 state the pattern exists between CO2
concentration in an ice core and the inferred
temperature at that time
 explain why are ice cores from Vostok,
Antarctica of such value in determining past
climate history
 explain how the information from tree cores
can be correlated with that from ice cores
Atmospheric Circulation
 explain how large scale convection cells
(Hadley cells) set up as a result of thermal
heating of air in the equatorial regions
 identify and name the major winds in the
earth’s atmosphere
 explain how the Coriolis effect causes the
winds to blow diagonally across the earth’s
surface rather than just in a north-south
direction
 indicate that it is the Coriois Effect that
causes winds to be deflected to the right
in the Northern hemisphere and to the
left in the Southern hemisphere – but only
for large scale events like hurricanes or
ocean currents
 briefly explain El Niño and La Niña as a
result of wind directions
Predicting the Future
I am able to:
 explain some of the complexity of our climate
system
use and manipulate Climate Change software
to explore a hypothesis for a cause-effect
relationship of Climate Change
 explain the role of modeling systems in
predicting the effects of Climate Change in
the future
 indicate the types of information that
Climate Change models use in order to be
able to predict future scenarios
 use a Climate Change model to predict a
future consequence of a current Issue, if
it continues unchanged
Paleoclimatology
I am able to
 explain how the climate varies naturally
define paleoclimatology
 give examples of the indirect evidence
used to study climate prior to 1860 (when
regular global temperature records began
to be kept)
 explain what a tree ring is and how it is
formed
3
Political Actions on Climate Change
Initiatives for Addressing Climate Change
I am able to:
 state that the Montreal Protocol (1987)
was one of the first international
agreements to protect the atmosphere; in
this case it was to protect the
stratospheric ozone layer by banning
chemicals such as CFC’s
state the that Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) was given the
mandate to assess the existing knowledge
about the climate system and climate
change and it released its first report in
1990
 identify that the UN Framework on
Climate Change was signed at the Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992
 state that the Kyoto Protocol, an
international agreement to reduce CO2
emissions was adopted in 1997
identify what the Climate Change
Convention is as well as its role
summarize the main decisions made at
COP15 in Copenhagan in December 2009
I am able to:
collaboratively research at least one initiative
for addressing Climate Change and record our
work electronically
analyze the effectiveness of this particular
initiative
suggest improvements to this initiative or
propose another one that would be more
effective
 incorporate relevant decisions made at COP15
into our analysis
participate as a member of a team in an oral
presentation to a “political panel” our analysis
of this initiative and its effectiveness as well
as propose further course(s) of action
Scientific Investigation Skills for Issues
and Remediations Pages
I am able to:
 formulate scientific questions about
issues in Climate Change, and research these
identify and locate print, electronic, and
human sources that are relevant to the
research questions
 select, organize, and record relevant
information on research topics from
various sources, including electronic, print,
and/or human sources using APA
formatting
 analyse the information gathered from
research sources for reliability and bias
 draw and justify conclusions based on inquiry
results and research findings
communicate ideas, plans, procedures,
results, and conclusions orally, in writing,
and in electronic presentations, using
appropriate language and a variety of
formats
Climate Change Issues
I am able to:
actively participate in group activities to
generate a list of current Climate Change
Issues
explore, in a collaborative manner, the
science behind a Climate Change issue and
record my findings on the Drupal page set
up for this
 analyze the effects of this Issue on both
human activity and natural systems
4