From Greenland to our Coasts: Exploring Sea Level Change with QGreenland

An understanding of Arctic regions, which are warming faster than the rest of the world, is crucial for understanding the global climate system. Greenland with its large ice sheet is of particular global importance and vulnerable to a changing climate, but the scale of the landforms can be difficult to grasp. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can help students visualize and engage with Greenland data to answer questions about its influence on global climate systems in a concrete way.  In this unit, students will explore how the Greenland Ice Sheet is changing and why that affects coastal communities worldwide. Students will  read about the effects of sea-level change on two different Alaskan communities and recognize the difference between regional and global average sea change. Students then choose a coastal community and create a flood map in QGIS, highlighting the risks of sea-level rise to infrastructure, community, economics, housing, and freshwater supply.

Students will... 

  • explore how sea level change has different effects around the world 
  • evaluate the risks associated with sea-level rise by creating a flood map
Topic
sea-level change
Course Type
Upper High School or introductory level university
Standards

NGSS HS-ESS3-5: Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth’s systems.

Polar Literacy Principle 5E: Effects of climate change at the Poles is directly connected to changes in sea level around the world

Context

This lesson spans two 60-minute class periods, or 2 hours. In the first class period, students read and discuss two Alaskan case studies of sea level change, and in the second class period students create a flood risk map to assess their understanding of sea-level rise. This lesson is part of a longer unit connecting the Greenland Ice Sheet and sea-level change. If using this lesson as a stand-alone activity, students will need additional background on sea-level change.

Teaching Materials

Part 1 – Case Study (45 minutes). Students read about the effects of sea-level change on two different Alaskan communities and recognize the difference between regional and global average sea change.

FloodMap_StudentNotebook_2022.pdf (110.2 KB)

 Part 2 – Flood Mapping (75 minutes). Students create a flood map and assess the risk sea-level rise poses to a coastal community.

FloodMap_Slides_2022.pdf (1.49 MB)