5-8 Rhone Glacier
Bronze level
Published on 1/30/2015
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Learning objectives
- Reading: Informational Text: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.2 Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the..
- Reading: Informational Text: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.3 Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how..
- Reading: Informational Text: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including fig..
Created for
Ages 11 - 13
Subject
Environment
Natural Sciences
Technology/ICT
Twenty-first century skills
21st Century Skills
Knowledge building & critical thinking
Global awareness & civic literacy
ICT for learning
Problem solving & innovation (creativity)
Required hardware
PC
Instructional approach
Project based learning (PBL)
Independent study
Learning activity details
(For more than 140 years, the Swiss have carved a tunnel into the Rhône Glacier in Valais, Switzerland, to allow visitors to walk underneath the ice. The blue grotto allows a unique perspective on the massive Alpine glacier that feeds the Rhône river and Lake Geneva.
Like most glaciers, the Rhône Glacier melts a bit in summer. But more recently, it’s been retreating faster than usual, causing officials to face tough questions about how to preserve the glacier, if they can at all. The past few summers, scientists have overseen a covering of the glacier with reflective blankets, in an attempt to reduce the severe melting.)
What does glacial melt have to do with carbon? What should we do when one event has multiple impacts?
© CEM/Getty
Like most glaciers, the Rhône Glacier melts a bit in summer. But more recently, it’s been retreating faster than usual, causing officials to face tough questions about how to preserve the glacier, if they can at all. The past few summers, scientists have overseen a covering of the glacier with reflective blankets, in an attempt to reduce the severe melting.)
What does glacial melt have to do with carbon? What should we do when one event has multiple impacts?
© CEM/Getty