Topic(s):Climate, Cryosphere
Scenario:How does a railroad operate when the ground underneath is melting? Actually the question might be academic, as this railroad has long since been abandoned. The 196-mile Copper River Northwestern Railway was built in 1908 after copper was discovered in what came to be known as Alaska's Copper River Valley. The railroad has survived encroaching glaciers and earthquakes. Even when it was built, it was referred to as the "roller coaster railroad" due to the uneven settling of the railroad bed caused by melting of the permafrost beneath.
Task:Due to the political connections to changes in the poles, your group has been asked to analyze the question of whether or not there are significant changes occurring in the Arctic regions. Determining whether the changes warrant alarm as well as what can be done to mitigate these changes should be part of your analysis.
Date: 5/1/2008 |
Scenario Images:
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Resources:
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
(Cycle A)
Climate Change and Permafrost Thaw Alter Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Northern Wetlands
(Cycle A)
Mammoth-Poo
(Cycle A)
Methane and Frozen Ground
(Cycle A)
NOAA Arctic Research Program
(Cycle A)
A Storehouse of Greenhouse Gases Is Opening in Siberia
(Cycle B)
Arctic thaw could cost $60 trillion
(Cycle B)
Climate Change in the Boreal Forests
(Cycle B)
Data: Winter Science: New Permafrost Data Suggests Implications For Climate-Change Predictions, ...
(Cycle B)
Recent Developments from The Permafrost Laboratory
(Cycle B)
ACMP Arctic Climate Modeling Program
(Cycle C)
Go North!
(Cycle C)
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Sample Investigations:
Hot Times in Alaska: Permafrost
(Cycle A)
How Permanent is Permafrost?
(Cycle A)
View Permafrost and Ground Ice in Google Earth
(Cycle A)
Virtual Globes: NSIDC Data on Google Earth
(Cycle B)
Permafrost - Working with Real Data
(Cycle C)
Standards:
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