Lesson 5b – Online Data and Supplemental Evidence (pre-2018 version)

 

Purpose:

The purpose of Lesson 5 is for students to model the scientific process – which includes the experimental bench work they are completing in Lesson 5a and the collaboration and connection to others’ research.  This portion of the lesson gives students the time and resources to learn from the work being completed by scientists and through their online contributions. There is another version of this lesson located here. This version is one we used prior to 2018 and we are keeping it here for teachers who prefer accessing this layout.

More In-Depth Carbon Cycle Learning

Wet Lab Simulations

  • Virtual Sea Urchin Lab (Bad Acid) – Our Acidifying Ocean Website:  http://virtualurchin.stanford.edu/AcidOcean/AcidOcean.htm
  • Netlogo Simulation – Use this simulation model to have students get a feel for how carbon, pH, silica-shelled diatoms, and coccolithophores might impact and affect each other in an ocean system.
    • You must first download NetLogo.  Follow the Download instructions and prompts on the NetLogo website. The program is free, but registration is necessary.
      • Click the appropriate download button for your machine.
      • Save the file to your desktop or program folder.  If you have find you have issues running any files, you may need to save all needed net logo files and programs to one folder.
      • Run the NetLogo Installer when prompted.  Allow the Wizard to guide you through the process.
    • Download this Ocean Acidification.nlogo file and save it in your NetLogo folder.  You can download the file by right-clicking the link and selecting “Save As.”  Save it in the NetLogo folder on your Desktop or in the Models subfolder.
    • View the contents of the program folder and launch NetLogo.
      • You will find there are many files and programs to choose from.
      • Scroll through to find the main, non-3D version of NetLogo.  Double click to launch that NetLogo program.
    • Once open, select the File tab, then click the Open option.  Select to open the Ocean_Acidification.nlogo file that you previously saved.
  • From the open model, click the Information tab to read the instructions and run the model.

Finding Current Data from around the Globe

Mesocosms – Click here for a word document that contains compiled information on mesocosm studies and background information. Students can use this information to further explore how they might adapt their experiment and/or what supplemental data they can gather that connects to the subsystem they are studying.

What the Past Tells Us

The past tells us a great deal about current conditions in the ocean. Scientists use reliable data from the past on trends and rates of change to make predictions about our future.  Here are a few marine education resources on using our past to understand the future.

  • Background on ice cores and carbon dioxide:  B. Geerts’ website – Chapter 1: Ice Cores.  Text cleaned up in a Word Document.
  • For more background information see the article, “The Geological Record of Ocean Acidification,” by B. Hönish et al., Science, 2 March 2012, Vol. 335 no. 6072 pp. 1058-1063.  A PDF can also be downloaded through many sites such as:  http://droyer.web.wesleyan.edu/Honisch_et_al_2012_Science_ocean_acidification.pdf .
  • Chapter 12 of the textbook, BSCS: An Inquiry Approach (Level II) gives a nice description of how foram shells can be used to measure the ratio of oxygen isotopes to better understand the past.
  • Collaborative animation showing compiled time history data:  Trends in Atmospheric CO2.
    • Walking students through this 3 minute animation is very important. There is a lot of information in the animation, which can be easily lost when first viewed.  Walking students through the video is well worth the 3 minutes.  It is a VERY powerful visual that gives us insight into our past and future.  It also is a terrific example of the understanding that can come from combining multiple data types and sources.  One of the key things to point out to students is that the rate of change in carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere is 10-100 times faster than ever observed through our geologic records.
  • Ice Core Studies:
    PLEASE NOTE:  To return to the updated other version of this lesson, click here: Lesson 5b – Online Data and Supplemental Evidence.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.