Climate Change and CO2 Sequestration Thematic Unit

Climate Change and CO2 Sequestration Thematic Unit

(to be used in study of carbon cycle aspects)

CARBON CYCLE

Lecture/discussion and reading on carbon cycle (1 class period)

Gear toward review or learning depending on class.

Thinkquest: What is the Carbon Cycle? (MS)

NASAearthobservatory: the carbon cycle informational material (MS HS)

Exploring the Environment: the carbon cycle informational material, glossary, links, references, models, activities. (MS HS)

Virtual Chem. Book: basic chemical processes and reactions associated with the carbon cycle (MS HS)

Ppt for visual aid

The Carbon Cycle: free Powerpoint format presentations and other resources. (MS)

Carbon Cycle Basics ppt

Carbon Cycle.Carbon. Carbon exists in the nonliving environment as: Carbon dioxide (CO2); Carbonic acid ( HCO3−); Carbonate rocks (limestone and coral ...

OACIS fellows and teachers:Theseselected readings informs students about the carbon cycle, how it works, and why it’s important.

Carbon cycle activities

Windows to the Universe: reading and diagram of carbon cycle Carbon is an element. It is part of oceans, air, rocks, soil and all living things. Carbon doesn’t stay in one place. It is always on the move! (MS HS)

Windows to the Universe: online carbon cycle game. In this game, you will travel the carbon cycle. Your objective is to get to all the places that carbon is stored along this map. Earn extra points by correctly answering the carbon challenge questions at the yellow stars.

Windows to the Universe: Using the Carbon Cycle Interactive Game in the Classroom. Lesson plan format instructions and resources.

Carbon Adventures: A game to teach the carbon cycle. This lesson plan is designed to introduce the complexity of the carbon cycle to students. By the end of the game, students should understand that carbon can take many forms throughout the carbon cycle, and that no set pathway exists in the cycle

Global Climate Change: Activity 15 What is the Carbon Cycle: In this exercise, students will explore the carbon cycle and be able to identify carbon sources, sinks, and release agents.

California Academy of Sciences: In this activity, students will learn that there is a finite amount of carbon on earth, which moves around in the environment, from one place to another. (MS HS)

California Academy of Sciences: Students will learn that carbon moves through all four of the earth’s major spheres (biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere), and understand how humans influence the carbon cycle and contribute to global climate change.

Carbon cycle formative assessment

Students prepare a small group presentation to convey their understanding of the carbon cycle. This may be done in multiple formats (slideshow, poster, collage, model, pamphlet, etc.).

CLIMATE CHANGE/GLOBAL WARMING/GREENHOUSE EFFECT

Lecture/discussion and reading on climate change/global warming/greenhouse effect (1- 2 class period)

NOAA earth system research laboratory (monitoring):GMD Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases Group (CCGG). CO2 data and trends and Global CO2 sampling

UNEP vital climate graphics: Vital Climate Graphics are based on the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was established by the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization.

NASA: global climate change vital signs of the planet. Historical and current data and projections for various climate change factors. (information resource)

EXPLORATORIUM: global climate change research andexplore scientific data relating to the atmosphere, the oceans, the areas covered by ice and snow, and the living organisms in all these domains. You’ll also get a sense of how scientists study natural phenomena—how researchers gather evidence, test theories, and come to conclusions. (information resource)

The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming

http//:academic.engr.arizona.edu/HWR/Brooks/.../lectures/2-6-2003.ppt

Atmospheric CO2 & Global Warming ppt

cstl-cla.semo.edu/hill/ui429/.../The%20Carbon%20Cycle.ppt

The Greenhouse Effect on Earth ppt

ppt

Greenhouse gases, climate change and biodiversity ppt

darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Bio65_May1.ppt

Greenhouse Effect Slideshow ppt

school/EnvironmentalScience/greenhouse effect.ppt

Climate Change and the Carbon Cycle

Climate change and the carbon cycle. David Schimel. National Center for Atmospheric Research. Boulder Colorado. Indicators of the Human Influence ... (HS)

Atmospheric Warming and CO2: The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is primarily due to world energy consumption and secondarily due to deforestation. The Carbon Cycle... (MS HS)

NASA’s Global Climate Change Education initiative is designed to improve the quality of the nation’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education and enhance students’ and teachers’ literacy about global climate and Earth system change from elementary grades to lifelong learners. The program website contains links to numerous Global Climate Change Resources for Educators to guide curriculum developers, classroom teachers and GCCE grant recipients to NASA information, data sets, simulations, interactives, and multimedia.

Global warming facts debates

Environmental Defense Fund: Basics of global warming The greenhouse effect: A natural balance Basic science, evidence of warming, anthropogenic cause, extreme weather, surprising effects, scientific consensus. (information reference)

Skeptical science: Explaining climate change science & rebutting global warming misinformation. Climate has changed before, it’s the sun, it’s not bad, no consensus, cooling, unreliable models, unreliable temperature record, life can adapt, no warming since 1998, Antarctica gaining ice. Skeptical science class debates. (information reference)

Climate change/global warming/greenhouse effect activities

Activity 14 What Do Concentrations Mean?Comparing Concentrations of Gases in Our Atmosphere: In this activity, students will use a dilution experiment to understand the concept of part-per-million (ppm) and part-per-billion (ppb) measurements. Through discussion, they will be able to relate these dilutions to concentrations of gases in our atmosphere.

CO2 Aquariums Greenhouse Gas Lesson:

Observe and measure the heat trapping capacity of CO2, the principle green house gas. Learn the role of CO2 in climate change.

Greenhouse Gas in a Bottle Demonstration: This is a simple demonstration that is quick and easy to setup and provides dramatic evidence of the effect on temperature of an atmosphere with increased carbon dioxide.

Organic Production of Carbon Dioxide:DIY yeast reactor

Carbon Dioxide and the Greenhouse Effect: In this activity, students conduct an experiment that enables them to witness the greenhouse effect and to consider thepositive and negative consequences of the greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse Effect Student Activity Book: Hypothesize reasons for increases in production of certain gases and propose solutions to global warming. Infer what international problems need to be addressed to stop the greenhouse effect. Describe the effects of global warming on humans and on plants.

Greenhouse Effect Activity Key: instructions, answer key, and additional resources

Carbon and Climate: Carbon cycle education project: Carbon and the Global Carbon Cycle, How are the Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change / Global Warming connected, Humans add CO2 to the Atmosphere, Nature removes about half of it.

Carbon Cycle Lesson Plan for Middle School

Carbon Cycle Lesson Plan for High School

Global Carbon Budget Applet

Global Climate Change and Energy
Challenge: The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is increasing. The world is getting warmer. If this continues, the ecosystems and economies of the world will be dramatically altered. What can be done about this?

Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer: Being able to visualize potential impacts from sea level rise is a powerful teaching and planning tool, and the Sea Level Rise Viewer brings this capability to coastal communities. (MS HS)

Global Climate Change and Energy
The Climate Challenge:This simulation lets you determine the global future using a bathtub model for atmospheric CO2. This was designed in collaboration with The Sustainability Institute and The Society for Organizational Learning. The graph animation drivers were calculated in a system dynamics model built by Dr. Thomas Fiddaman.

C-Learn climate simulation (free version): Main Control PanelChange the values and click "Run Simulation". See the graphical representations of your decisions below, and explore climate impacts in the graphs to the right and using the menu options above.

C-Learn Climate Interactive facilitator resources: The Facilitator Guide will lead you through the general concepts of World Climate, the details of the context, the purpose of the exercise, time required and walk you through a version of the exercise. Read this document first. It amounts to the script of the exercise.

Climate change/global warming/greenhouse effect formative assessment

Students prepare a small group presentation to convey their understanding of the various aspects of Climate change/global warming/greenhouse effect. This may be done in multiple formats (slideshow, poster, collage, model, pamphlet, etc.).

CO2 Sequestration

Lecture/discussion and reading on CO2 sequestration (1- 2 class period)

Overview of Carbon Storage (information): Roughly one third of the United States’ carbon emissions come from power plants and other large point sources, such as industrial facilities. The Carbon Storage Program is focused on ensuring the safe and permanent storage and/or utilization of CO2 captured from point sources.

Carbon Storage Research (information):Carbon dioxide storage in geologic formations includes oil and gas reservoirs, unmineable coal seams, and deep saline reservoirs. These are structures that have stored crude oil, natural gas, brine and CO2 over millions of years.

Geologic CO2 Sequestration interactive web map (information):interactive web map that includes investigated basins, assessed areas, stratigraphic columns, and well density information.

Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide (information): Geologic Sequestration (GS) is the process of injecting carbon dioxide (CO2), captured from an industrial (e.g., steel and cement production) or energy-related source (e.g., a power plant or natural gas processing facility), into deep subsurface rock formations for long-term storage. This is part of a process frequently referred to as “carbon capture and storage” or CCS.s

What Is CO2 Sequestration?(information): Carbon sequestration means capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere or capturing anthropogenic (human) CO2 from large-scale stationary sources like power plants before it is released to the atmosphere. Once captured, the CO2 gas (or the carbon portion of the CO2) is put into long-term storage.

Important! Why Carbon Sequestration Won't Save Us (information):Carbon sequestration, also known as geosequestration, seems like a good deal. "Have your carbon cake and eat it too." In principle, it works this way: You capture CO2 emissions at the source before they are released into the atmosphere, compress them until they become liquid and then inject them in deep underground holes. What could be simpler? It certainly sounds like a good tool to fight global warming while enjoying the Earth's huge coal reserves.

Ppt for visual aid

Introduction to Climate Change & CO2 Sequestrationppt

(not available online)

Carbon Sequestration - Geophysical Laboratory ppt (HS to AP chemistry or evironsci)

Introduction to Geologic Sequestration of CO2ppt (HS)

to Geologic Sequestration of CO2.ppt

Carbon Sequestrationppt(MS, HS)

PP Presentations/Carbon_Sequestration.pp

CO2 sequestration activities

Biological sequestration

How to calculate the amount of CO2 sequestered in a tree per year.The rate of carbon sequestration depends on the growth characteristics of the tree species,

the conditions for growth where the tree is planted, and the density of the tree's wood. It

is greatest in the younger stages of tree growth, between 20 to 50 years.1 Further

complicating the issue is the fact that far less research has been done on tropical tree

species as compared to temperate tree species.

Ocean sequestration

Ocean Acidification Lesson - Monterey Bay Aquarium ResearchWhen carbon dioxide is dissolved in water it lowers the pH as carbonic acid is formed. Increases in carbon dioxide to our atmosphere threaten to change our climate through global warming

pHRegulationof Seawater: The Role of Carbonate (CO3) and

Bicarbonate (HCO3):seawater can resist drastic pH changes even after the addition of ... seawater in a simple activity to enable pupils to visualise the buffering ... What happens to the pH of the water in the bottles after blowing in CO2 into them?

Middle School Chemistry: A variety of experiments the demonstrate the effect of CO2 on aqueous solution pH. (MS)

Geological Sequestration

Infiltration Test: Exploring the Flow of Water Through Soils:How water flows into and through a soil has great implications for the diversity of plants that can be supported by that soil. Different species of plants will be favored by a slow versus fast draining soil. Accordingly, the choice of plant species for a native planting or ecological restoration is determined in a large part by the dynamics of soil and water. (MS HS)

Testing Porosity of Soils: Porosity refers to how many pores, or holes, a soil has. A good portion of soil is air and water. The research aspect of this science fair project is to measure and compare three soil samples for their porosity. (MS)

Porosity and Permeability:Students will learn the difference between porosity and permeability, that these are important characteristics of soil/rock material, and that these vary depending on the type and sorting of soil/rock material. (MS HS)

Hydrocarbon Hangout: Oil and natural gas are found in underground traps. A trap consists of a source rock that produces the hydrocarbons, a reservoir rock that stores the hydrocarbons, and a cap rock, or seal, that prevents the hydrocarbons from escaping to the surface. In this activity, you’ll learn about some important properties of both reservoir rock and the hydrocarbons it contains. (MS)

CO2 Sequestration Formative Assessmentformative assessment