Revision

The Dreaded Word

Geography Specification

The first thing that is really important for students is to actually understand what the examiners are looking for in the answers. I think I would actually give out an over view of the specification of that topic on the introduction lesson of Glaciers, so they can follow and mark their own progress.

I have attached a link to the specification that is given by the AQA exam board

 http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/newgcses/geo_landt/new/geography_a_overview.php?id=09&prev=09

Please click on specification and the topic overview of 'Ice on the land' is on page 16.

Practice Papers

I hated doing these while conducting both my GCSE's as well as my A levels. But I could understand why they were so important, it highlighted my weaknesses in terms of subject knowledge and my skills in answering questions.

Again I have attached the link to the AQA website with some pass papers on and the answer booklets for students to practice their exam techniques.

http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/newgcses/geo_landt/new/geography_a_materials.php?id=09&prev=09


PowerPoint Quiz using Hyperlink

I have burrowed this idea of creating a PowerPoint quiz using hyperlinks from my Primary school placement and I figured that if Year 6's can do it then maybe some body as computer illiterate as me might be able to have a go.

The idea is that students create an interactive quiz that uses their knowledge of Glaciers. If they get answers right they move onto the next screen if they do not they go back to the beginning.
If I have time, I will create a PowerPoint quiz.

This is again to use different methods to help students identify where they need to put some extra revision in or area's they need one:one tuition from the teacher.

Glaciation and Climate Change

I think thats it is really important for students to understand that Glaciation is not an event that occurs solely on its own. That it is not affected by anything or affects anything else. I am contentrating on Glaciers and Climate Change, as it probably has the most obvious connection but do not fooled there is connections to a lot of other topics in Geography. Such as:-

• Glaciers and habitats
• Glaciers and Toruism and Economy
• Glaciers and other Hazards

Glaciers and Climate change

Previous eras of change in Climate

Scientists from the round the world use Ice Core to help uncover a long term climate record. They extract ice from Glaciers to analysis data that is stored with the Ice. Especially the particles trapped in the air pockets with the Glaciers, they are literally containing old atomosphere. There are able to aid scientists in constructed  and record changes in past climate and vegetation that would have been there.

Please see link below of a BBc report in 2004 of an Ice core that allowed scientists to gain information from 740,000 years ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3792209.stm

Also in the report it indicates that the carbon dioxided are higher than they have been in 440000 years. This leads nicely on to the next point.

Glaciers and Global Warming

Today scientists are looking at how our climate warms up,whether its natural or man made. Since the Industrial revolvtion our Glaciers have mainly followed a pattern of retreating and increased levels of retreat over the last few years.

'In Europe, the situation is worrying too. Europe’s glaciers are thought to have lost around a quarter of their mass in the last 8 years' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/glaciers.shtml)

'It is believed the situation is so extreme in Alaska that of the 2,000 glaciers observed, 99%of them are retreating' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/glaciers.shtml).

The earth's temperature is on the rise and Glacier retreat is used as evidence that this is ocurring below it a link for a video that explains really well the affects Global warming has on Glaciers. I have also added the website of the National Geographic as there are a lot of video's on the website showing evidence of Global warming.

Video :- http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/global-warming-environment/way-forward-climate.html

Website:- http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/global-warming-environment/


One of the biggest retreats in the last few decades is Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand. It dramatically retreated in the 20th century, on the link below there is pictures that show the Glacial retreat over 14 years:-

http://nsidc.org/glaciers/gallery/retreating.html.

Not only is the Glacier melting, they are causing a vast amount of meltwater all over the world. This will cause a rise in the level of rivers and oceans,that have worldwide impacts such as flooding low laying land.

There is loads of information on how Glaciers are affected by the changes in climate and are excellent indicators as to the changes in the Climate. I could have gone into far more detail, however I just wanted to illustrate that all topics are inter linked.

Resources
http://nsidc.org/glaciers/questions/climate.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/glaciers.shtml

http://nsidc.org/glaciers/gallery/retreating.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

 





AMAZING TASK FOR STUDENTS

My old Geography teacher gave me this little recipe when she found out I was conducting a blog about Glaciers. I thought this would be a creative and quite a unique activity for the students to be involved with. I could image have amazed students would be as that was my first reaction.

Glacier Recipe

Mix 1

A 20oz Cup

1x stirring stick

3/4cup of warm water

1 cup of white glue

In the large cup add water and glue. Stir unti lwell mixed

Mix 2

A 8oz cup

1/2 cup of warm water

2tsp of Borax powder

In the cup, add borax powder and the water together. Still until the powder has dissolved

Pour mix 2 into mix 1. Stir until a glob forms and most of the water is mixed in. Knead and work the mix for 2 -3 minutes. If you do not use mix straight away, keep in an air tight bag and will last for a few months.

Task

The students will have to create a mountain like sculpture for the mixture to come down. The idea is that the mixture will move down the slope slowly, in the same manner as a real Glacier.

I am not sure this works as I am yet to try it out, but the theory behind getting the students involved in creating a model that represents a Glacier is a good theory.

Case Study: Lake District

In the National Curriculum it is important to not only know the theory of Glaciers but can relate it to actual places. Through my research one place that comes up regularly when I was looking at Erosion and Deposition features was the Lake District.

I think that this would be a perfect case study to use when describing features left by a Glacier, as a lot of Students may have already visited there but also could be used as a field trip opportunity to visit Glacier features in a real life setting.

For example this is:-

This is Red Tarn, Helvellyn that shows a lake within a Corrie. In these images you can see characteristics of old Glaciers that were here such as steep back walls and Aretes.

http://www.helvellyn.com/Gallery1.html

 

There is many more examples of Glacier feature in the Lake District. For this dramatic scenery, the Lake District attracts hundreds of people to the area. For Long Weekend breaks, walking holidays, trekking and cycling. This is a massive boost for the area's economy and local businesses.

I know this was a small case study, however everything here I have already covered. It just allows Students to have a specific place to talk about in Coursework or Exams

Resources

http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/

www.sln.org.uk/.../Glacial%20features%20of%20the%20Lakes.ppt

http://www.helvellyn.com/

Tasks for Students

Using this case study I would like them to them to do a tourist brochure on the Lake District and what people can see them and why.

I think its good that Students get a chance to write or design different modes of Information. It gives tham a chance to be creative as well as write a informative piece of writing.

Case Study: Iceland

Researching Glaciers, I found so many case studies that I could have focused on for an in-depth study. Each one having unique features that were fascinating. The reason I choose this one is because its a recent event that has happened and the children may have even been affected by it. I also think that its an excellent example of how Human and Physical merge together and affect each other.

Eyjafjallajoekull,Iceland

14th of April 2010



Location map

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8624748.stm


On the 14th of April 2010, a massive Glacier flood hit Southern Iceland. The Eyjafallajoekull Glacier is situated 75 miles away from Reykjavik, the capital city which is shown on the map.

This Glacier flood was caused by the Eyjafjallajoekull Volcano erupting underneath a 650 foot thick block of Glacier ice on top of the vent. This caused the ice to melt and quickly become a fast flowing river of water. The Volcano is quite steep, so the floodwater came down powerfully and in a very short amount of time.

This was not the first eruption from the Eyjafallajoekull Volcano in the area recently. On the 20th of March 2010 the first eruption happened, this was the first eruption in 200 years for the Eyjafjallajoekull Volcano. There was some follow up eruptions however many thought that the Volcano had quieten down. These presumptions were proved wrong when on the 14th of April there was an emergency night time evacuation of around 800 people in the flood zone area, which was a small town called Hvolsvollur and rural homes that surrounded the Glacier. The previous eruptions did not cause flooding as the active vents were in a mostly Glacier free areas of the landscape.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8624748.stm



The vast amount of water caused local rivers to rise as much as 10 feet, which caused massive floods and the water continues to gush into the ocean. Huge amounts of infrastructure has been weakened or destroyed by this floodwater, such as bridges being damaged and coastal roads that lead to Reykjavik being washed away. There was also a lot of flooding in farm areas leaving them isolated, which is threatening many livelihoods.

One main consequence that caused major distress to Iceland and many other areas of Europe, which was the main reason I choose to do this case study, was the huge plumes of ash that the Volcano caused. The Volcano shot smoke and stream hundreds of metres in the air, which blew across a lot of Europe.

This caused major problems in Iceland as locals were told to wear masks when the ash falls, as its so thick and can cause many respiratory conditions. On the BBC news website, there was an interview conducted with one of the locals for their report, her name was Hannah Andrews.She told BBC that the government of Iceland have recommend that she would be wise to keep her cows and life stock indoors, as the smoke and ash could be lethal if her life stock breathed it in (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8624748.stm).

This could be devastating for farms as they are not only having to relocate life stock but as previously mentioned they are already struggling with being isolated by the flood.

It also caused massive problems for aviation. The smoke and ash forced many cancellations of flights across Iceland, UK and northern Europe and disrupted all air traffic.

The was some 'positives' (and I say that in a loose term) to the Glacier Floods, as of yet there was no cases of any causalities. The preparation  of the emergency services and the observation teams that monitor the Glacier was first class. They managed to evacuate a huge area without incident.

The biggest positive from this event is the increase of Tourism to the area, which if reports are to be believed on the economic status of Iceland, it is a much needed boost to the economy. Since the first eruption of Eyjafallajokull Volcano,there has been swarms of tourists eager to visit the island that is appropriately named the 'Land of Fire and Ice'. The number is around 25,000 extra people visiting Iceland, wanting to see the dramatic landscapes and the huge gushes of water that was caused by the Glacier flood.

I can not seem to copy and paste the actually videos from You Tube but I have attached the links below. I think these video's can actually show Students the affect of Glacier Floods.

This first link is a BBC report about the Glacier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=L7NamDwfXvk

This second link is to a report about the Air traffic disruption across Europe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkdDRM_kTcY&feature=player_detailpage


In the future there are fears that there may be more eruptions from the Eyjafallajokull Volcano or these could agitate a neighbouring Volcano.

I think this is a great case study, as it merges both Physical and Human Aspects together. You could take any aspects of this case study and look at aspects in more detail from Iceland's Economy to people's health.

Resources
 www.bbc.co.uk/news
www.nationalgeographic.com
www.youtube.com


Tasks for students

I purposely did not set this report out in my 5W's which I raved about at the start of my blog. I thought it would be a good way for the students to learn if they received a report like the one I've written and using other resources on the Internet to answer the 5W's themselves. Also for them to think of primary and secondary affects of the Glacier Floods.

Glaciers as a Resource

Following on from my previous post, I am now going to focus on Why a Glacier is a resource for people.

Refrigeration

This is considered to be one of the earliest uses of Glacier Ice. Caves within Glaciers were used as stores to preserve food and ice cut from the Glacier was commercially and domestically.

In the 1850's, Ice from Alaska was transported to California and Ice from Glaciers in Southern Peru was exported as far north as Peru. Norway was exporting Glacier Ice before refrigerators were invented. Not only was Glacier Ice used as a simple way to preserve food, it was classed as an valuable commodity. This statement I also true today, Iceland market this Glacier Ice and melt water as a unusual form of pure mineral water. Peru grind the Glacier Ice and add different flavours to it, to create a form of natural snow cones.

Water

Glacier are a natural source of one of humans basic necessities. Not only is melt water a natural source of pure mineral water, the run-off is also used in many other ways for human survival.

Sources of Rivers:- Glacier melt water run off is the source of many of the worlds major Rivers. The Gangotri Glacier is the source of the Ganges River. Not is this huge River a water supply for many people, the source has actually become an attraction for tourists and pilgrims. This human activity is actually being blamed for it rapid retreat.

Irrigation:- Many arid areas, including the Thar desert and the Atacama desert receive the water for their irrigation for crops from draining Glacier melt water from adjacent mountains.

This is not a new concept or one that is restricted to arid areas. In Switzerland's Rhone Valley, for centuries farmers have channelled Glacier water to irrigated their crops.

Power

One of the most recent developments to make use of Glacier melt water run off is Hydroelectric Power. Scientists and engineers in Canada, New Zealand and Europe have worked together to find ways of tapping into the massive potential of using melt water as a form of renewable energy.

Norway is one of the more innovators in this field, 1877 was the first time hydroelectric power was used in Norway . Today, approximately 99% of electricity is from  hydroelctric power schemes,of which a big proportion of this hydroelectric is from Glaciers. There are many projects going on in Norway but here is a link to the Svartisen Hydroelectric Project, which is an interesting website to understand what goes on in this Hydroelectric plants.

The Svartisen Hydroelectric Project : - http://www.robbinstbm.com/case-study/svartisen/

Tourism

Increasingly tourism has become a major feature when thinking about Glaciers. Countries have gone to great lengths to attract tourists to these areas, as it boosts the local economy.

With walkers and mountain hikers these areas have always been popular due to the challenging landscape and the beautiful unique scenery. When there is fresh snow on Glaciers, they provide opportunities for skiing. Skiing resort are a massive tourist destination, that attract people from all over the world. Using this crevasse free Glaciers as ski resorts, main that in some places skiing can occur around the year.

 Another big tourist attraction is guided Glacier walking, this attracts people of all ages to try a new incredible experience. This is something that I can say I have done at Franz Josef in New Zealand and this unique experience was a once in a lifetime activity. Below is some images of me attempting to climb Franz Josef:-

 Here is the website that shows you the main home page of Franz Josef and the way they are attracting tourist to the area:-  http://www.franzjosefglacier.com/

Sources:-

Other than the main websites I have highlighted throughout the Blog, here are some general websites that talk about Glaciers as a resource.

http://nsidc.org/glaciers/questions/people.html

http://www.nature.nps.gov/views/KCs/Glaciers/HTML/ET_Monitoring.htm



Tasks for Students:-

As in the previous posts, I do not want Students to think about this 'human' impacts as purely Human Geography. So to make them think of Glaciers as having both Human and Physical aspects, I would like them to devise their own advantages and disadvantages of using Glaciers as a resource.

A way to possibly expand on the Students theories on advantages and disadvantages, is to conduct a class debate. A group on the side of using Glaciers as a resource and the other as why they should not be used. Possibly having another group as the judges and vote of which group had the best arguements and had reasons and examples to back up their points.

Glaciers as a Hazard

I would just like to point out a really useful book that has helped me out greatly in this section and the next section. Its by a gentlemen called Peter Knight, who is an University Professor at the University of Keele. I read his book Glaciers (1999) however he has done many other academic writing and published more recent work.

In this section, I am going to write about how Glaciers are classed as a Hazard.

Ice Avalanches

Ice avalanches occur in a similar fashion to landslides and snow avalanches. In some cases Ice avalanches occur in conjunction with landslides and snow avalanches but also with other natural hazards such as earthquakes.

When Ice breaks away from the main Ice sheet, whether its by an earthquake or where the ice has moved past the bed rock underneath, the affects are disastrous. With modern technology and the Glaciers slow movement, their movement patterns are fairly predictable and are fairly rare. However when Ice Avalanches have happened its been at a great cost.

On the 10th of January 1962, a mile and a half long chunk of Ice separated from the 180 foot thick ice cap in the Nevados Huascaran valley in the South American Andes. The 4 million tons of Ice fell down the mountain, bringing with it, dirt and rocks from the slopes. In the space of 15 minutes, the ice avalanche travelled 11 miles. Once the avalanche had stopped the realization of the disaster was truly appreciated, a total of 7 villages were buried under the snow and a death toll that scientists can only estimate of around 4,000 people.

There was an avalanche in 1970 in the same area of Peru, that was the most catastrophic rock-ice avalanche known in history. That was caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7, this avalanche was huge in size and claimed the lives of 18,000 people.

Below is an image that shows the distance the two avalanches covered:-


http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/ice-avalanches-of-the-nevados-huascar-n-in-peru

  Please use the links below to see more about the case studies:-

UNEP websitehttp://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/ice-avalanches-of-the-nevados-huascar-n-in-peru

and also
http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/avalanches/iceandrock.shtml

Floods and Lahars

Glacier floods are considered among the most damaging hazards as they are an outburst of a vast amount of water. Also Glacier floods are very unique to each individual Glacier and may not cause any damage for years. Like Avalanches, Glacier floods can be caused by a numerous amount of reasons. In the Swiss Alps, Glacier floods occur approximately every two years by an outburst from ice-marginal lakes and the rapture of water pockets with in the Glacier.

However the a recent Glacier flood happened in Iceland on April 14th 2010 and began for a totally different reason. I will be writing about this Glacier as one of my in-depth case studies. Please see a future post...

Fluctuations and Surges

In an era when our climate is rising, it is unusual to think that any Glacier would be growing or surging forward. However this was a major hazard during the little Ice Age between the 13th and 19th Century.

The early settlers in Iceland, set up new settlements near Glaciers and when the Glacier grow it demolished the newly built towns. In modern development there is a proximity zone around Glaciers to prevent this hazard from occurring.

 As Glacier movement is slow and predictable, growth is not considered a immediate problem, however surge can be quick and surprising. A surge is a short lived event when a large amount of ice moves or slides forward, this can cause other hazards such as flooding.

The above image shows the surge of the Medvezhiy Glacier in Tajikistan, from June 3rd 2011 to 23rd of July 2011 the Glacier slid abruptly around 800 - 1000 metres. The Glacier normally moves around 200 - 400 metres a year. Glaciologists are concerned about Glaciers outbursts, as the Glacier is now blocking the Abdukagor River. It is causes a lake behind the ice sheet, infrastructure has already been damaged by one outburst already.

Please see the link to the Earth Observatory website below for more details on this case study:-

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=51498 

Tasks for students:-

I think that it is really important that students do not just see these hazards as a physical occurrence. Using mind maps, I want the students to think carefully about have these hazards do impact on humans.