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.