Albedo

3/30 WHOT Teaching Point:

Objective: Collect data on the albedo of various surfaces on Earth.

Responsibilities: Albedo Lab Due Wednesday.

***If you did not present last week… Assignment on SWIFT also DUE Wednesday.

3/30 Warm-up

The surface of the Northern Hemisphere is 60% water

The Southern Hemisphere is 80% water Which hemisphere do

you think has milder summers and why?

(hint use the word energy)

Albedo – The amount of radiation (sunlight) that a

surface reflects. Positive Feedback – A cycle where a small input results in a

larger output. Eg*

Albedo

1. What land surface types absorbed/reflected the most incoming radiation?

2. How would the numbers change if all of the Tundra/Taiga was covered with snow as it is in the winter?

3. How would the numbers change if there were fewer forests and more deserts?

4. How will the decrease in the amount of snow and ice in the Northern Hemisphere change the amount of energy absorbed by Earth’s surface? How will it affect the average global temperature?

Create a question and answer about Albedo.

WHOT Q

Oceans and Climate

3/31 WHOT Teaching Point:

Objective: Create a density column to model how deep ocean currents work.

Responsibilities: Ocean Density & Albedo Lab Due Thursday.

***If you did not present last week… Assignment on SWIFT also DUE Friday***

Ocean Density Lab Warm Up:

What is more dense salt water or fresh water? And why?

RED 2/3 parts salt water

GREEN 1/3 parts salt water

BLUE is the most concentrated salt water

YELLOW is tap water

Question #7: Glacial Retreat Most glaciers on the planet are in retreat,

they are melting faster than they are being made.

Glaciers are made of fresh (not salty) water.

What do you think happens to the ocean where the glaciers are in retreat (melting)?

Create a question and answer it about Ocean Density

WHOT Q

Ocean Currents

4/1 WHOT Teaching Point:

Objective: Describe how ocean currents move energy around the planet.

Responsibilities: Ocean Density & Albedo Lab Due tomorrow.

Quiz/Quest Friday. Check SWIFT THIS WEEK FOR UPDATES

***If you did not present last week… Assignment on SWIFT also DUE Friday***

Lets see what we’ve learned. Use the terms latitude, energy,

water, rain shadow, and albedo to describe the climate of Renton, Wa.

Warm-up

We are 48° latitude

Outline

Albedo

Ocean Currents

Deep water freezing Water freezes but the salt goes.

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/frozen-planet/videos/icy-finger-of-death.htm

Deep Ocean Freezing

What causes them? Wind (surface currents) Changes in Density (Thermohaline

currents) To change Ocean Density

Temperature Salinity (amount of salt)

Ocean Currents

Movement of water distributes energy around the globe to regulate global temperature.

Called Thermohaline circulation Thermo - temperature Haline - salinity

Ocean Conveyor

Lets Draw it.

Ocean

Arctic Equator

Ocean Currents

WHOT Q

What does the oceanic conveyor belt transport?

Where are the 4 deep water formation sites found? Are they all in polar regions?

How long does it take for water to make a full loop?

When was the last time the conveyor shut down? What happened?

Answer QuestionsReflect question in answer or write

questions down, you decide.Use

complete

sentences!

Give an example of an object outside with high albedo

Give an example of an object outside with low albedo (hint – think of the color of things)

Warm-up 4/16

The Arctic is warming at almost twice the rate of the rest of the world.

Difference in 2001-2005 average temperature distribution compared with the 1951-1980 mean temperature distribution.

Climate Change Impacts on Snow and Ice

Artis Rams/iStockSnow influences climate because of its insulating properties and because it reflects sunlight.

Snow and ice in the Northern Hemisphere are melting, especially in the Arctic.

SNOW

Decreasing Snow Cover

Snow cover has declined in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in spring and summer. Mean monthly snow cover is decreasing by about 1.3% per decade.

Northern Hemisphere Spring Snow

Snow is also melting earlier in the spring, increasing the snow-free period in the Arctic regions.

This changes the average albedo. (decreasing)

This change may significantly alter the overall planetary albedo, causing even further warming (positive feedback effect).

Snow Outlook for the Future

Yellow to red is less snowBlue is increased snow

The snow line (minimum elevation for snow cover in the mountains) is projected to rise in many mountain areas.

Major reductions in snow cover are projected for mid-latitudes by the end of the this century (2100).

Webquest Check into SWIFT Under Pearson Documents W7 Albedo Webquest Pg 114-116 in Lab Notebooks

This material is based on work supported by an Environmental Literacy Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of

Education (NA09SEC4690009) and prior work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants ANT-0342484 and ESI-0632175. Any

opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the National Science

Foundation.http://andrill.org/education/elf/activities

Land Surface Type

Avg. number of corn (energy)

Albedo Number Reflected

Number Absorbed

Deserts 15 .3 5 10

Ocean 55 .1 5.5 49.5

Ice and Snow

10 .8 8 2

1. What land surface types absorbed/reflefted the most incoming radiation

The Grassland (.20 albedo) absorbed the most radiation at 3.14% of total radiation compared to the desert (.30) which reflected 8.14% of radiation.

Use Data

So how does albedo affect climate?

Name something with a high albedo, Name something with a low albedo

Pg 114 in science journals