Module IX

Essential Question:

How are climate, terrestrial ice and Alaskan indigenous cultures all connected?

First on a lighter note than this picture portrays, a brief personal story.

As a ten year old, I became an Alaskan transplant (I am not sure where my native lands are, I'm guessing Germany and Sweden, but know no one there), specifically to Anchorage which was around 75,000 people. I learned soon that riding over frost heaves was a blast on a bike, motorcycle, snow machine and any vehicle. In fact, I used to try to always sit in the back of the school bus during spring. It was the closest a kid could get to a carnival ride.

One time after I had gotten my driving permit, I had one of those coveted opportunities to be at the wheel on our way home one day. It just so happened to be the day that we were taking my Dad home from Providence Hospital after having gall bladder surgery. Mind you, this was in the early 1970's so medical technology was less technological. He incision was about six inches long and he was still in a lot of pain. Well, beginning driver and all, did not slow down for the "frost heave" patch on our street. Apparently, that doesn't feel very good right after surgery. I think I might heard a few dirty words, which my Dad never said, that day.

While the total amount of terrestrial water on the Earth is in our oceans, the majority of the fresh water is contained in the higher and lower latitudinal areas especially the North and South Poles. Fresh water comes from higher elevation areas where glaciers and ice sheets have formed. With the warming of our planet, whether it is completely caused by humans burning fossil fuels or not, our fresh water which is locked in ice is melting. Scientists have found evidence of periods of global warming before the industrial revolution by investigating the layers of a section of a tree. They have seen this same type of evidence while looking at layers in ice with sediment in them. However, since the this industrialization period many human activities have increased the Earth's current warming trend.

This module was full of visual evidence of melting snow and ice. When you talk about the reduction of sea ice, the visual is shown by the Arctic Sea boundaries changing from year to year. But, when you talk about the reduction of terrestrial ice, there is many more opportunities for you to see visual evidence of that occurring. From the permafrost ice caves of Tunnel Man, to the ice going out on the Yukon River and the pre and post pictures to glacier's advancement.

See photos below.

The Alaskan indigenous cultures have a challenge

ahead of them. For so many years in the past, they have interacted with nature. They have made observations of the land, the climate, the oceans, the lakes, the rivers and the plant and animal life that survived those particular environmental situations. They have forged a living on the land. Now they have decisions to make. Their land is becoming unstable under the permafrost. The fishing lakes are disappearing into rivers from the melting of permafrost. The rivers are running into the oceans. The oceans climates are becoming to harsh for survival. The sea is moving farther away from the land, making it difficult for the web of life in that area to continue. The rivers have become more fierce at break up with warmer weather causing more melting at the rivers head waters. And, with all of this occurring simultaneously, the sea level will rise and swallow up land that has been part of Alaskan indigenous way of life for many, many centuries. It seems as though it is a disaster. Is it in fact part of a cyclical process of our dear Earth's interaction between the ocean currents, volcanoes, earthquakes, atmospheric processes, rotational processes, all in relations with our big bright star? It truly makes sense that it is being exacerbated by too many humans, too many factories, too many automobiles, too much pollution of our nature water sources and so on.

P.S. After 33 years of entering the Tanana/Nenana Ice Classic I'm wondering if this might be my good luck year.

Module VIII

Essential question:

How are Arctic sea-ice, climate and culture all connected?

Explain and extend: The climate and sea-ice consistency in the Arctic has become very familiar to those cultural members and they have come to rely on the patterns of consistency to help themselves survive, what would be to others a fairly brutal region on our Earth. They were born in the Arctic. They were taught by people who were born in the Arctic, who were also taught by people who were born in the Arctic. They have developed a fascinating and accurate record of the Arctic' climate and sea-ice patterns for as long as they have been living.

They are able to tell that the climate and sea-ice are changing. As more green house gases are being put into our atmosphere, more are being bounced back by the atmosphere causing the Earth to become warmer, which in turn melts more sea-ice. Polar bear are at the top of their food chain, except humans. They teritary consumers because they eat seal. Seal are teritary consumers also, as they eat smaller fish. The smaller fish are the secondary consumer since they phytoplankton which is the bottom of the food change called the producers. In order to have this web of life we need our sun to continue to provide the adequate warmer that all of these animals have become accustom to living within.

If we continue to disregard the signs of global warming that have been recorded by Native cultures and western scientific evidence, the sea-ice could melt, which would increase the temperature of the ocean, which could have an impact on the bottom of the food chain, the producers may not be able to survive and without them the web of life is destroyed. If we were lucky, it might redesign itself. But, the polar bear would not be able to hunt from ice. Their habitat and hunting ground would be gone.

Loss of polar cap ice is concerning because for millions of years our white caps have reflected a certain portion of the sun's rays back into space. Much like the experiment using a heat lamp, water, black and white paper, the polar ice caps are necessary to reflect some of the sun's rays into space in order for the Earth to stay cool and have cooling climate systems. If the ice goes and the oceans are dark, the water will absorb more of the sun's rays, which will inevitably increase temperatures planet wide.

Evaluate: The contents of this module were for a layman scientist, a bit challenging. I needed to have a lab and lab partners to conduct and discuss the experiments in order to help me solidify the concepts.

Module VII

How is Earth's climate connected to its geological, biological and cultural systems?

Explain and Extend: The climate on Earth is created by the interaction between the geological, biological and cosmic processes that coexist. Cultures have been part of those processes since the beginning. While most human cultures have interpreted the beginning of life as they understood it, scientists have found that evidence of the Earth's creation can be followed geologically and biologically.

For the first billion years of the Earth's existence, it was inhabited by anaerobic bacteria called Thermophilus. Meanwhile the plasma bubble or magnetic field protected the Earth from solar winds and cosmic rays. As the Earth continued to form into what it is present day, it released gases, received big hits from icy comets and sustained a simple life form who ate iron and minerals which when it was pooped out, was oxygen. The cyanobacteria through photosynthesis transformed air and life. As the Earth became more habitable for various microbes, they too began to grow. And, now billions and billions of years later as the elements diversified, humans have evolved. The one who designed all of these phenomenal interactions and processes, God, definitely has immense and infinite plan.

As the Earth geological, biological and cosmic processes continue to support life here as we know it. Humans have evolved into a species that have begun to create more greenhouse gases through industrialization and technological advancements. These changes allow cultures to grow and produce. But, we have beginning to see evidence of anthropogenic climates changes. The Earth with its relationship with the cosmos, geological and biological processes was moving forward without intellectual decisions being made by mankind.

Evaluate: This time of the year in Alaska, I start having serious thoughts about a snow free, dry and warm day during which I could saddle up my horse and go riding through a land of beautiful scenery. I think about how nice it would be to have more of a spring during which the grass in the pastures could get started on growing a little early. With a little extra heat like last summer, I could get a tan just from being outside. After living forty-one years in Alaska, I see no point in worrying about skin cancer. But, as I continue through my life, looking back on the past and living in the present, I do need to consider the future. The resources and content of Module VII have given me a greater understanding of the big picture. As well, I have explored resources about what some people are doing to try to make a difference.

Module VI

Mt. Redoubt at sunset

Essential Question: How are the Earth, atmosphere and cultures all connected?

Explain and Extend: Without its atmosphere, the Earth would be vacant of plants and animals. Because of the oceans and the atmosphere here on Earth, cultures have been able to grow and change. The continual interaction between ocean currents and the atmosphere allow for warming and cooling of the planet. Areas that are along the equator have less of a variation in temperature changes, because as the Earth rotates on its axis and orbits around the sun the middle or belt line of the planet stays closest to the sun. Because of the closer distance to the sun, it seems that those areas would be to hot to be inhabitable. And, it would seem true for the top and bottom of the Earth that they would be uninhabitable due to the cold temperatures. Both areas are inhabitable, but for humans one requires more clothes than the other. Why?

As explained in part three of this module, the wind and weather, the sun is the driving force for creating an inhabitable environment. When the air closest to the Earth is warmed it begins to rise or evaporate. This happens frequently in the tropics along the oceans. Low pressure causes the warm air to rise. In other areas on the oceans high pressure systems carrying cold air begin to sink as it is more dense. Between the ocean currents, high and low pressure systems, climate and location, winds are created to carry the weather in a somewhat predicable patterns or cells.

Because of the consistency in the past of the close interactions between the ocean current, wind and weather, high and low pressure systems and the atmospheric properties that work together, cultures have been able to survive for close to 200,000 years on our planet. The scientific relationship between the sun, oceans, currents, atmosphere, earth's rotation and the jet streams caused by the movement of the Earth along certain latitudes hasn't always given every latitude perfect weather patterns, it has given them enough decent weather patterns to life and flourish up to a point where the Earth's population, now has so many people that the natural patterns and processes can be changed by human technology and carelessness.


Evaluate: During this module, I had the most difficult time understanding the physics in relation to how the cellular changes occurred between the solids, liquids and gases that form our functional, food producing, water yielding, air providing planet. Thermal energy, latent heat of vaporization, discussion and experiments using Celsius, were all simply something that I need more than weeks to solidify the real relationship to where I truly understand it.

I found one of the most interesting points that was made came from an Alaska Native who was a pilot. I knew that the indigenous peoples of our earth have personal relationships with the sky, air, weather, the clouds, the ground, the animals, and on and on. And, I have read books in which the native people discussed some of their experiences. I have also, heard some talk about their experiences with snow pack and ice. But, I hadn't actually heard anyone discuss his spiritual knowledge of the reflections of rainbows and certain looks of the sky and then relating it to wind and weather. The fellow talked about all the things that nature, "sign makers from nature" had shown him about the weather and then he followed with a comment about Western scientific method was helpful to him as well.