Whales and other larger marine creatures return nutrients from the deep, where they feed, to the surface, where they excrete there waste when they return to the surface to breathe. Whale poo is rich in iron, nitrogen and other nutrients, which fertilise phytoplankton. This process is known as the "whale pump". GEOstory 1.3 Whales: Ecological Engineers examines the whale conveyor belt and the "whale pump". If you have chosen to explore this GEOstory with you class, you may find the videos embedded below useful. How whales change climate Explore how whales change climate, engineer the ecosystem, create conditions that spawn plankton, and keep our oceans healthy in this beautiful story by George Monbiot. How whales fight climate change This video explores how whales can have a positive impact on the fight against climate change by acting as a "blue carbon" solution.
0 Comments
If you have used GEOstory 1.5 on Iceberg Alley, or are studying features of the cryosphere this little 7 minute video clip on the icebergs near Newfoundland will make for an interesting start of lesson activity. Add the url to your teaching program where GEOstory 1.5 is mentioned. Why Do Hundreds of Icebergs Keep Visiting This Town? We have created an Iceberg model for discussing and writing about natural events such as the yearly iceberg appearances in Newfoundland. This model and a student activity will be an addition to GEOstory 1.5 in the print edition of Powerful Geography 1. The Activity: Use the Iceberg Model to write a descriptive paragraph summarising the key geographical ideas represented in GEOstory 1.5.
Perhaps you might like to use this video for a Friday afternoon. Harvesting icebergs to make the world's purest water One of the GEOstories for Earth's Natural Systems is Forest Elephants: Valuing Nature. It explores the role of African forest elephants and their dung in the forest ecosystem and explores the value of of elephants in carbon capture. African forest elephants create corridors by knocking down trees, trampling undergrowth, smashing partly decomposed logs on the forest floor, stripping bark and digging up roots. This encourages the growth of larger, taller trees, and assists in nutrient recycling as it reduces the density of the forest. Elephant dung fertilises the soil and disperses seeds. The forest elephant’s role in maintaining biodiversity makes it a keystone species in Africa’s rainforests. African forest elephants and forests play important roles in the carbon cycle. Large elephants are a carbon reservoir, and through the process of photosynthesis forest plants capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and convert it to primary biomass. The larger, slow-growing trees that elephant allow to grow store more carbon. Below are a couple of videos that you might like to use to support teaching of this GEOstory to engage your students.
It is important that resources for students contain detailed subject content and great case studies, incorporate metalanguage and provide a range of student activities, but what a resource looks like will also impact on student engagement and usability. Powerful Geography has been designed to be visually attractive, uses colourful, clear diagrams and infographics, and has a plethora of newly designed illustrations and graphics that students won't have seen before. Included below is a collection of sample pages for you to see what the Powerful Geography resource looks like. Visualise This pages contain complex geographical information in colourful illustrations and graphics. The purpose of this is to make sure that complex information is accessible for the full range of students, including those who may find complex text and terminology difficult. They also provide a great opportunity for all students to explore geographical information represented in a variety of different forms, and to develop the skills to manipulate and interpret information in different ways. The sample below shows the layout of the Visualise This about The Anthropocene. GEOstories have a similar layout to the longer case study chapters, with larger sections of text broken up by maps, diagrams and beautiful images. These are shorter case studies that can be used to explore themes in greater depth for students requiring extension (see our previous blog about Linked Content). Alternatively, a teacher may choose to use a smaller GEOstory in preference to a longer case study for students requiring learning and support. GEOstories are a form of chunking information at a larger scale. The excerpt below is from the GEOstory sample about the Wollemi Pine. Throughout the larger case studies chapters, information has been chunked in manageable sections to allow students to absorb information without becoming overwhelmed. The layout has been designed to include white space and some larger images and maps to break up text. Colours have been chosen to address colour contrast and improve usability and readability of maps and graphics. The excerpt below is from the Case Study sample of the Lake Eyre Basin.
To build conceptual knowledge and understanding and to ensure maximum usability of Powerful Geography content, a conscious effort was made to link content. Each Visualise This, GEOstory and Case study is a stand alone resource but there are connections between them.
For example: Studying the Arctic Region in the Content Focus Area: Human - Environment Interactions draws on content from Chapter 2: The Cryosphere and Chapter 3: Forest Systems (Boreal forests) from Earth’s Natural Systems.
The migration of birds from the southern hemisphere to the Arctic in GEOstory 1.1 reinforces the importance of Arctic environments for global biodiversity and Arctic ecosystems. The GEOstory, Churchill, the polar bear capital of the world, looks at challenges facing communities in the Arctic as a result of climate change and the changing behaviour of polar bears. Iceberg Alley describes changes to icebergs along the coast of Newfoundland. Visualise This explain important concepts relevant to the Arctic, many of which link to climate change - glacial and interglacial cycles, ecological succession after glaciers and ice sheets retreat, tipping points, feedback loops and permafrost. Much of the Arctic Ocean is considered ‘high seas’, one of the five recognised global commons that require treaties to govern their sustainable use. Over the coming weeks we will illustrate connections between other Case studies, Visualise This and GEOstories. Some of these connections link to Case studies for Year 12 that will be in Powerful Geograpphy 2. |
AuthorsLorraine Chaffer Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
|