GCSE (9-1) in Geography B (Geography for Enquiring Minds) - Lesson Element Supporting PowerPoint (Does sea ice matter?)

1
Does sea ice matter?
Lesson Element supporting PowerPoint
2
Is there more to polar environments than ice?
3
Just a minute
What do you remember about Arctic ecosystems?
Discuss in a pair for 1 minute
4
Did you know

• That the Arctic is essentially an ocean
  surrounded by land
• That much of the ice is sea ice some of which
  is permanently frozen and some that retreats in
  spring and summer, so the total amount of ice is
  variable through the year
• That melting sea ice does not cause sea level
  rise (think of an ice cube in a glass of water)
  it is melting land ice that causes variation in
  sea volume

5
Your home investigation task

• Create a collage of images to show why sea ice
  matters in the Arctic , include annotations.
• Dont worry all will become clear after we work
  through the following activities

6
Arctic Bingo
Choose six of these words and write them in your
grid
Tundra
Humus
Biome
Temperature range
Habitat
Ecosystem
Transpiration
Permafrost
Waterlogged
Adaptation


7
Arctic Bingo

• I will read out the definitions, without saying
  the word. If you think you have that word written
  in your grid cross it out
• The first person to cross out all six shouts
  Bingo!

8
Answers
Term Definition
Tundra Climate type characterised by extreme cold, low temperatures and frozen soils
Humus Organic material formed by the breakdown of plant matter
Biome A community of plants and animals that occurs naturally together
Temperature range The difference between highest and lowest average annual temperature
Habitat The place where a plant or animal lives
Ecosystem The plants and animals that live in a specific place
Transpiration The loss of water through pores in the leaves of plants
Permafrost Ground (rock and soil) which is below freezing (below 0oC)
Waterlogged Pore spaces in soil are filled with water
Adaptation Characteristics of a plant or animal that make it suited to its environment
9
Does sea ice matter?
Krill live in specific ocean habitats with a specific temperature range. The hunting traditions of indigenous people are threatened by thinning sea ice. Lemmings eat leaves and grasses and do not hibernate in winter.
Ice algae grows on the underside of sea ice and is eaten by krill. Reindeer graze the tundra in summer and migrate for food in the winter. Lemmings have white coats in winter to help them hide from predators such as Snowy owls.
Thinning sea ice allows more sunlight through which encourages growth of phytoplankton. Migration patterns of Snow geese and Arctic terns are affected by blooms of phytoplankton. Ice seal pups must stay with their mothers on the ice for 6 weeks after they are born.
Ice seals such as bearded and harp seals need sea ice to rest, moult and rear their young. Global warming will change the type of vegetation that grows in the Tundra biome. Arctic foxes need sea ice to travel for feeding (hunting and scavenging) and breeding.
Arctic foxes hunt for lemmings, seal pups and voles. They also eat the remains of food left by polar bears. Winter ice provides a safe habitat for Bowhead whales to give birth. It protects them from Killer whales. Changes in feeding and migration patterns of polar bears, walrus and seals make it harder for indigenous people to hunt.
Oil pipelines (built above ground) disrupt the migration routes of reindeer. Hunting of seals by humans is affecting the polar bears food source. There is now 10-15 less summer sea ice than in the 1950s.
Polar bears use sea ice for travelling, mating and hunting. Arctic ice became 40 thinner between the 1950s and 1990s. Walrus need sea ice to rest on, and for breeding.
In spring, sea ice is melting earlier, and in winter it is freezing later. Overcrowding of walrus populations on beaches leads to deaths of pups. The main habitat of polar bears is sea ice near to ice seal populations.
Reindeer habitats are threatened by other land uses such as mining and wind farms. Reindeer herders make their income from meat, horns and skins. International borders can form barriers to nomadic reindeer herders.
Polar bears use dens in snow on land to give birth. Bowhead whales eat krill. Melting of permafrost is causing changes in vegetation.
Reindeer require large areas of habitat to survive.    

• Working in pairs you will need a set of mystery
  cards.
• Find a way to sort/group the cards to try to
  answer the question Does sea ice matter?
• It may help to refer back to the food web
  produced in the previous lesson.
• You can cut out and re-sort, colour-code, devise
  a key to help you categorise.
• You will need to make connections between pieces
  of information on different cards.
• Be ready to pair share this information

10
Summarising human impacts become the examiner

• Write two stretch and challenge questions about
  the range of impacts that humans are having on
  the Arctic ecosystem.
• You must also write the number of marks and the
  success criteria.
• Examples could include
• Describe how indigenous people impact the Arctic
  ecosystem?
• Hint think about the other types of command
  words you could use

11
To finish

• Join another pair and choose one of their
  question to answer.
• You will then be peer assessing using the
  success criteria.