Lab 1 – (30 minutes in ANGEL)
The goal of this lab is to determine the relative impact of glacial melting and thermal expansion on sea
level rise. You will learn about the current state of ice sheets and sea ice in the northern and southern
hemispheres and estimate their effect on sea level rise. Next, you will compare this with the amount of rise
that you derive from the thermal expansion of seawater.
Part 1
Look at the following animations and videos and answer the questions below:
Arctic Report Card 2012 (link is external)
Sea Ice Concentrations (link is external) (please watch two Arctic and two Antarctic animations)
Flow of Ice Across Antarctica (link is external)
Ice Sheet Animation (link is external) (blue is decreased thickness, red is increased thickness)
Also, study this graph of ice mass changes (in gigatons of ice) in Antarctica and Greenland from the
GRACE satellite system that can measure mass changes in these regions based on gravity.
1.
Does melting of sea ice contribute to sea level rise? Why?
2.
Is melting of sea ice occurring more rapidly in the northern or southern hemisphere? How would
you describe the change on sea ice around Antarctica for the period of the animation?
3.
Where is the fastest flow of ice on Antarctica (length of arrows is proportional to velocity)?
4.
In what year did the melting of the ice sheet on Greenland peak?
5.
Which ice sheet, Greenland or Antarctica, lost more mass between 2002 and 2009?
6.
What are the main differences between the loss of ice mass on Greenland and Antarctica?
Parts 2 and 3
In the next two parts of the lab you will observe tidal and satellite altimetry data on the elevation of the sea
surface and interpret them in terms of sea level changes. You will distinguish between absolute and relative
sea level changes.
Part 2. Observe satellite altimetry data for sea level change between 1993 and 2003
around the world (from IPCC report) and answer the questions below:
Climate Change 2007 (link is external)
1.
Select three areas of the ocean where sea level rose the fastest over the decade.
2.
How does the map of sea level rise compare with the map of predicted thermal expansion? What
does that say about the relative importance of thermal expansion and melting of ice in causing
recent sea level change?
Part 3. Now, looking at tidal record data from around the US (link is external) and
answer questions below.
1.
Where are the highest rates of relative sea level rise and why are the rates so high?
2.
Along the west coast of the US, Canada and Alaska, why is relative sea level going down in
certain locations?
3.
Provide an outlook for the northeastern US (from Norfolk, VA to Cape Cod, MA) in light of
Superstorm Sandy and similar storms in the future — what do the sea level trends in these areas
mean for their vulnerability to future storm surges?
Lab 2 – (30 minutes in ANGEL)
The goal of this lab exercise is to use flood maps to make predictions about the future of areas in the US
and elsewhere that will be impacted by sea level rise.
Prediction of the extent of flooding that results from sea level rise is much simpler than predicting the
absolute amount of sea level rise that will occur over coming decades. Flooding predictions are based on
digital elevation maps that have great accuracy and resolution.
Part 1.
Answer the questions below based on the following flood maps (Note: the map may take several seconds to
load, so please be patient):
https://www.cresis.ku.edu/sites/default/files/Research/Maps/Animation/world.mov (link is external)
You will see a global map with highlighted regions that, if clicked on, will take you to more detailed views
of those regions.
1. When you look at the loops for the southeastern US, you will appreciate that certain areas will flood
much earlier as sea level rises between 0 and 6 meters above present.
From the maps, determine which of the following areas floods the earliest and which the latest: (a) the
region south of New Orleans; (b) the region between Galveston and Houston; and (c) the area to the west of
Miami.
2. How much does sea level need to rise for much of the area south of New Orleans to flood? (answer to 2
decimal places e.g.1.23)
3. How much does sea level need to rise for much of South Florida west of Miami to flood? (answer to 2
decimal places e.g.1.23)
4. Find all of the following cities on a world map with population density (World Population Map (link is
external)): (a) Venice, (b) Rotterdam, (c) the area around Dhaka, Bangladesh. Rank these 3 regions
according to the number of people affected by a 6 m sea level rise.
Note 1 = greatest population affected  3 = smallest population affected
5. How would the Bahamas islands be affected by a 6 m sea level rise?
Part 2:
In this section, you will look at detailed morphology of the Mississippi River in the area around New
Orleans and make observations about the processes that have shaped prominent features.
First look at:
Digital Elevation Model Discovery Portal (link is external)
Click on the Map Interface to DEMs link on the left side of the window.
Spend some time looking at the software and controls. Zoom in on the area around New Orleans, making
sure you have clicked on the Local (High Resolution) box along the right side, and answer the following
questions:
6. Travel up and down the Mississippi river from New Orleans till where it enters the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of
the delta. How does the trajectory or path of the channel change (relative to further upstream) as you approach the
mouth? Does the width of the channel look natural? What do you think has occurred?