Activity One - Positive Feedback Loops

There is often a lot of talk about climate change and it can quite frankly get a little boring, especially when the impacts to us seem minimal. After all slightly longer summers mean we get more time to enjoy Lake Leman, even if the classrooms get a bit sweaty. How do we all fit in this cycle of change and therefore what are our wider impacts?

1. What is a feedback loop?

2. How does a positive feedback loop work?

3. What is a tipping point?

4. Describe the abrupt changes in climate?

5. Why aren't we in a negative feedback loop now?

6. Who is Warren Washington? Why has his research been important?

7. Draw an annotated feedback loop for the changes in the albedo.

Useful Resources

Activity Two - Evidence

Geography is often based on empirical information and specifically data which is then interpreted in multiple ways. Looking at the impact that climate change has on the glacial environment is exactly that but how it is then viewed depends on the eyes of the beholder. While some of you may not see the initial beauty in change Fabian Oefner, a Swiss landscape photographer, has tried to connect the scientific data with landscape photography to help bring change to life. Watch the youtube clip by Oefner titled 'Timelines' below. You do not need to do anything but watch. Sometimes passively watching something and taking it all in rather than racing to write notes is important to capture the meaning. Make the most of it, we don't do this very often!

Activity Three - Data - How do we know?

So far we have looked at how climate change and glacial areas are intrinsincally linked together. We are now going to investigate this much more on the national scale by looking at the changes in Switerland. Thank you Mr. Allaway - www.geographyalltheway.com for doing all the hard work by collating a series of graphs and articles that will help us to explore these changes. Make a copy of the note making frame from Mr. Allaway's website and answer the questions. This is all going to be done online so you will need to share the notes with me. 

Useful Resources

www.geographyalltheway.com - Note making frame