Module 8 - Ice, Albedo, and Humans

Explain: I really like what Steve MacLean thinks about incorporating humans into studies of the natural environment.  While few people can claim to truly follow the same subsistence lifestyles of their ancestors, many are trying their best to keep as many traditions alive while still adopting modern technology.

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A few months ago Dave Sather recommended 1491, a book about what life was like in the America’s before organized European influences.  I have managed to read about half of the book so far and strongly recommend it.  One of the most interesting cases that the author makes is that the idea of the American Indian being uncivilized and incapable of changing his surrounding environment is demonstrably false. 

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Example: Bolivian highlands used to have many grasses that haven’t been there for hundreds of years because the Indian’s are no longer allowed to set the brush fires as they always used to. 

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Example: Colonists described the forests along the Atlantic Coast of North America as easy to walk through with big trees and little brush. This is thought to be because of extensive burning and other treatments used by Indians to clear land for farming.

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To restore the wild lands to their pristine condition usually means to pre-European arrival, not pre-human arrival.  American Indians and Alaska Natives have been an integral part of the natural systems for millennia.  Their traditional influences are natural a part of the environment.  The influences of modern technology, however, are not.

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Extend: I like the simple labs and may use them in my physics class next semester.  The albedo lab reminded me of some experiences that I have had with albedo. 

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First, I earned my private pilot certificate one summer in Florida while I was still in high school.  While flying one day, I noticed black fields in different places, surrounded by farmland.  It turned out that they were black tarps spread over “fern farms.“  The ferns needed to be in hot environments to grow quickly, so the farmers used black sheets to absorb more of the sun’s energy and heat the air and ground beneath.  (A neat side effect of these farms is powerful thermals, especially if one lands at “Bob Lee Airport” (1J6) near Deland, Florida.  There is a huge fern farm just off the end of runway 09.  We would need to have a lower-than-normal approach to compensate for the rising air immediately before touchdown.)

(The black polygon to the left (east) of the runway is the fern farm.  Thanks to Google Maps for the image.)

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Second, one often finds holes in the snow when hiking in the alpine during spring.  Sometimes there will be a leaf down in the hole, or a feather, or even a rock that rolled down the snow during the winter.  These objects get warmer than the surrounding snow because of their lower albedos, (a lower albedo = more absorbed energy).  This causes them to melt into the surrounding snow, sometimes as much as a foot or two!

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Third, I remember reading a story in the BBC while I was a senior in college.  It talked about reducing the rate of glacial melt by increasing the albedo of glaciers.  The method? Wrapping them in reflective plastic!  And I’ve go to say Google is awesome… it took me about 5 seconds to find the article once I thought of it...  Amazing...

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Evaluate: The science of this module is all a review to me, however the cultural references once again impress me.  I love reading about people like Steve MacLean and his efforts to connect the Alaska Native ways of knowing to Western science.  These cultural references are the most valuable part of this course for me as they allow me to better relate the concepts I teach to my students’ cultures.

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Three Colleagues:

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Ernestine writes about how much she also appreciated Steve MacLean's video.  Additionally, she mention that learning through discovery is the best for her.  My own goal in my physics class is to have students experiment with a phenomenon and reach a basic level of understanding how it works.  Only then will I expose them to the actual equations and "accepted" terminology.  I definitely have a long ways to go...

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Dave talks about a recent abnormal melting of the Kuskokwim outside his home.  He discusses how the whole town depends on the ice during the winter for travel, even the basketball teams.

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Tyler talks about the lack of sea ice in Southeast.  I have only seen centimeter-thick ice in the calm bays around Sitka.  I would love to see "real" sea ice some day.  Also, since sea ice is less salty than the water beneath it, could we eat it?