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Chapter 5: Global Climate Change

Sections in this Chapter

Chapter Challenge

In this section you will find materials that support the implementation of EarthComm, Chapter 5: Chapter Challenge.

 

Article 1: How Has Global Climate Changed Over Time?

The Meaning of Climate

Climate, National Geographic Education
Looks at how the world’s climates can be divided into categories.

What is the difference between global warming and climate change?, USGS A brief statement describing the difference between these two terms.

Examples of Past Climates

What is a Glacier?, National Snow and Ice Data Center
Provides information on glacial formation, movement, and associated landforms.

Investigating Climate Change of Western North America, USGS
Learn more about climate change and the study of the geological record for Western North America.

How Geologists Find Out about Past Climates

North American Drought: A Paleo Perspective, SERC Carlton University, EarthLabs
Explores paleoclimatic data and how it can provide information about past droughts.

Paleoclimates and Pollen, UCAR
Information on the background, trends, and evidence of paleoclimates.

Biological Proxies - Spores and Pollen, USGS
Learn how these microscopic structures for plant reproduction can yield records of vegetation and community changes over time.

Sea Sediments, Enviropedia
Learn more about sediments found on the sea floor and information that can be revealed by investigating these sediments.

About Tree Rings, University of Arizona
Overview of the dating and study of annual rings in trees, including what they tell us.

Connections between climate and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) *Fourth Edition

The central role of climate action in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Scientific Reports Journal A comprehensive article that explains how climate and work toward SDG 13: Climate action overlaps with the achievement of other SDGs.

Sustainable Development Goal interactions through a climate lens: a global analysis, Stockholm Environment Institute A report on the interactions between SDGs, with a focus on climate.

 

Article 2: Causes of Global Climate Change

Milankovitch Cycles

Paleoclimatology: Explaining the Evidence, NASA
Examines the connection between eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession in relation to past glaciations.

Milankovitch Cycles and their role in Earth’s climate, NASA
Explains the role that the three different aspects of Milankovitch Cycles play in the seasons.

Plate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics and Climate Change, Thompson Rivers University
Looks at how plate tectonics affects important processes like the formation of mountains and the direction of ocean currents.

Climate Change - Plate Tectonics, Lyndon State College
Looks at how plate tectonics affect climate change.

Ocean Currents

How the Oceans Influence Climate, The Global Development Research Center
Looks at the influence of ocean circulation on climate.

Ocean Currents and Climate, National Geographic Education
Learn more about the different oceanic currents and the role those currents play on climate change.

Carbon Dioxide and Other Greenhouse Gases

Sources of Greenhouse Gases, EPA
An overview of data graphics that show the sectors contributing to atmospheric greenhouse gases.

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory, EPA
View US emission data on greenhouse gases from 1990 through 2016.

 

Article 3: What is Global Climate Change and How Might It Affect Our Community?

Greenhouse Gases

Global Climate Change FAQ, NASA
Provides descriptions of global warming and greenhouse gasses. Also contains several helpful links to other sites on greenhouse gasses.

Humans and Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere

Climate FAQ, NASA Earth Observatory
Provides descriptions of global warming and greenhouse gasses. Also contains several helpful links to other sites on greenhouse gasses.

Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Report, U.S. Energy Information Administration
Provides information on carbon dioxide emissions from US energy and industry.

Responding to Climate Change, NASA
Provides information on mitigating and adapting to our changing climate.

Fourth National Climate Assessment, U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
Examines initiatives to research and abate global warming.

Carbon Dioxide and Global Warming

Understanding the Global Carbon Cycle, Woodwell Climate Research Center
Reviews the basics of the global carbon cycle and how fossil fuels are linked to the cycle.

Climate Change and the Future

Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation, Living Atlas, ArcGIS An interactive map to browse data on climate-related hazards in your community and around the U.S.

Future Climate Change, US Global Change Research Program
Describes projection of future climate based on the amount of heat trapping gases in the atmosphere.

Future of Climate Change, EPA
Examines what the future holds for the Earth with climate change.

Consequences of Climate Change, NASA
Describes results that scientists had predicted in the past would result from global climate change: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves.

Changes in Sea Level and Ocean Circulation

National Close-up: Science Talk, Washington Post
Glacial melting effects many systems in and surrounding our oceans. Reporters address typical questions regarding these relationships.

Climate Change, Variability and Prediction, NOAA
Find information on NOAA scientists’ interpretations and predictions about sea level from high resolution models.

 

Section 1: Paleoclimates

Learning Outcomes

  • Carry out an investigation that uses patterns in growth rings in trees as indicators of environmental change.
  • Analyze and interpret data that show changes in temperature over time scales of 1000 and 160,000 years.
  • Use a model to explain the significance of fossil pollen as evidence for climate change.

 

Inquiring Further

To learn more about each topic, visit the following websites:

Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP2):

Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP), University of Maine
An overview of the GISP 2 project that began in 1988 and aimed to drill to the bottom of an ice sheet.

3D Model of Greenland’s Ice Sheet, NASA
GISP 2 is the longest deep-ice core ever from the Northern Hemisphere. Describes how scientists use ice-penetrating radar data to build a map of layers deep inside the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2: A Record of Climate Change, PBS
Interactive activity describes how climatologists obtain and interpret evidence from the Greenland Ice Sheet to build a picture of Earth’s climate history.

Greenland Melting Trends, Climate.gov
Science on a Sphere visualization shows melting trends in Greenland. Describes how changes in the climate around Greenland can have a world-wide effect.

Techniques for dating deep-sea sediments:

Magnetic Stripes and Isotopic Clocks, USGS
Provides information on astounding observations of ocean rocks that led to the unlocking of an important geological story.

Biostratigraphy, North Central University
Pdf provides useful information on biostratigraphy, the use of fossils to determine the ages of layers of marine sediments. Contains a useful list of definitions.

Biostratigraphy and Microfossils, Australian Academy of Sciences
Provides a useful overview of marine sediments and the many different species of fossils that are used to determine information about past climates.

Paleoclimates in the United States, visit the following web sites:

Investigating Climate Change of Western North America, USGS
Explores various paleoclimatic data and how they can provide information about past climate and ocean and atmospheric processes.

Growth rings on rocks give up North American climate secrets, Berkeley
Learn how rocks, sediments and soil are being used to reconstruct past environments in North America.

The Deep Time of Walden Pond, Nautilus
Learn how mud sediment in Walden Pond reveals evidence of its past environments.

Direct Records and Proxies:

Paleoclimatology Data, NOAA
Paleoclimatology data are derived from natural sources such as tree rings, ice cores, corals, and ocean and lake sediments. Follow links to find out about the most widely-used proxy climate data types.

What is dendrochronology, Cornell University
Overview of using tree ring dating. Links to procedures for dating tree material.

About Tree Rings, University of Arizona
Overview of the dating and study of annual rings in trees, including what they tell us.

What is Palynology, Florida Museum
Learn why fossil pollen is a useful tool for determining paleoclimates.

Paleoclimates and Pollen, UCAR
Information on trends and evidence of paleoclimates. Select appropriate tab to find out more background information.

Biological Proxies - Spores and Pollen, USGS
Learn how these microscopic structures for plant reproduction can yield records of vegetation and community changes over time.

Investigating Climate Change of Western North America, USGS
Learn more about climate change and the study of the geological record for Western North America.

Ice Cores:

Core questions: An introduction to ice cores, NASA
Describes where ice cores come from and why glacial ice can be important source of past climate data.

Ice Cores and Climate Change, British Antarctic Society
Includes a brief description about why ice cores are an important source of information.

Sea Sediments:

Sea Sediments, Enviropedia
Learn more about sediments found on the sea floor and information that can be revealed by investigating these sediments.

Sedimentology 101, Australian Academy of Sciences
Learn the basic principles of sedimentology—the study of how modern sediments are created, transported, deposited and eventually turn into rock.

Glacial Landforms and Sediments:

What is a Glacier?, National Snow and Ice Data Center
Provides information on glacial formation, movement, and associated landforms.

Glaciers and their Landforms, NPS
Provides information on glaciers, their types, movement, and associated landforms with photos of examples from the United States.

Glacial Landforms, Encyclopedia Britannica
A glacial landform is any product of flowing ice and meltwater. Describes different landforms that can be used to model past climates.

 

Section 2: How Do Earth’s Orbital Variations Affect Climate?

Learning Outcomes

  • Use models to demonstrate the relationship between seasons and the axial tilt of Earth.
  • Use mathematics to illustrate Earth’s elliptical orbit around the Sun and how this shape influences climate.
  • Carry out an investigation to explain how insolation to Earth varies as the inverse square of the distance to the Sun.

 

Inquiring Further

To learn more about each topic, visit the following websites:

Sunspots and global climate:

The Sun-Climate Connection, NASA Explores the relationship between solar variability and climate change.

The Sun and Sunspots, NOAA Learn about the effects on Earth’s climate by increases or decreases in sunspot activity.

Milankovitch Cycles:

Milutin Milankovitch: Seeking the Cause of the Ice Ages, American Museum of Natural History Information about the analysis of Milutin Milankovitch that lead to conclusions that Earth’s orbit changes in three cycles of different lengths.

Milankovitch Cycles, NASA Explains the role that the three different aspects of Milankovitch Cycles play in the seasons. The Earth’s Axial Tilt, Obliquity, Precession, and Variations that Affect Climate:

Imagine the Universe - Ask an Astrophysicist, NASA Learn how the Earth’s tilt affects the seasons and the relationship between different angles of the Earth and seasons.

Astronomical Theory of Climate Change, Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments Learn how the Earth’s not-so-circular orbit around the sun affects our climate.

Climate Change: Causes, British Geological Survey Examines how the solar energy received by the earth is both cyclical and variable due to the changes in the earth’s orbit and inclination. Explores how these variations affect global climates.

Paleoclimatology: Explaining the Evidence, NASA Earth Observatory Examines the connection between eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession in relation to past glaciations.

Precession, NASA Describes the development and background behind the idea of precession.

Precession, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Watch a short video that describes and explains Earth’s processional motion.

 

Considering Sustainability *Fourth Edition

To learn more about assessing solar radition levels on Earth, visit:

Solar Radiation Basics, U.S. Department of Energy
An article introducing the topic of solar radiation, including links to maps on solar resources.

Where solar is found and used, U.S. Energy Information Administration
An article with maps showing solar radiation in the U.S. and solar electricity generation by state as of 2023.

Effect Of Solar Radiation On Module Photovoltaics, Journal of Electrical Engineering
A publication with graphs showing how the absorption of solar radiation by solar panels held at different angles.

 

Section 3: How Do Plate Tectonics and Ocean Currents Affect Climate?

Learning Outcomes

  • Use models to explain how ocean currents are affected by Earth’s moving plates.
  • Analyze and interpret data on a world map that shows ocean surface currents to explain the effect of ocean currents on regional and global climate.

 

Inquiring Further

To learn more about each topic, visit the following websites:

Flow of North Atlantic Deep Water:

Lamont’s Broecker Warns Gases Could Alter Climate: Oceans’ Circulation Could Collapse, Columbia University
Provides useful information on the importance of the NADW and its relationship to other systems.

Ocean Circulation Shut Down by Melting Glaciers After Last Ice Age, NASA
Provides basic information on the North Atlantic Ocean Circulation System as well as the effect of the last ice age on this system.

Major Deep Water Masses, Penn State
Describes the driving forces behind the movement of Earth’s major deep ocean currents.

How Ocean Currents Affect Climate:

How the Oceans Influence Climate, The Global Development Research Center
Looks at the influence of ocean circulation on climate.

Ocean Currents and Climate, National Geographic Education
Learn more about the different oceanic currents and the role those currents play on climate change.

How Plate Tectonics Affect Global Climate:

Three Times Tectonics Changed Climate, Eos
Learn more about how moving continents have drastically changed Earth’s climate.

Plate Tectonics and Climate Change, Open University
Looks at how plate tectonics affects important processes like the formation of mountains and the direction of ocean currents.

Climate Change - Plate Tectonics, Lyndon State College
Looks at how plate tectonics affect climate change.

 

Considering Sustainability *Fourth Edition

To learn more about the severity of natural hazards, visit:

Volcanic hazards, British Geological Survey
A summary of the various hazards that occur during a volcanic eruption, with videos to show many of the hazards.

Natural Hazards 101, European Geosciences Union
An introduction to many types of hazards.

US Natural Hazards Index, Columbia Climate School, National Center for Disaster Preparedness
An interactive map showing what natural hazards affect the United States. Clicking any spot on the map will provide details of the risk assessment for each natural hazard category, showing how the overall risk in an area is a combination of factors.

 

Section 4: How Do Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in the Atmosphere Affect Global Climate?

Learning Outcomes

  • Analyze and interpret data to explain the relationship between global temperature and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
  • Develop and use a model that demonstrates greenhouse warming in the atmosphere.
  • Obtain information about how carbon dioxide is put into and removed from Earth’s atmosphere.

 

Inquiring Further

To learn more about the each topic, visit the following web sites:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC
Discover IPCC, its mission, and its member constituents.  Examine reports that assess scientific, technical, and socioeconomic dimensions of climate change.

United Nations actions on climate:

Earth Summit +5, UN Department of Public Information
Contains general information on the history of the Earth Summit, its mission, and the key-players involved.

SDG 13: Climate Action, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Obtain key information on the issues surrounding climate and the targets and indicators set by the UN to reduce emissions and address climate change.

Greenhouse Gases:

Global Climate Change FAQ, NASA
Provides descriptions of global warming and greenhouse gasses. Also contains several helpful links to other sites on greenhouse gasses.

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory, EPA
View US emission data on greenhouse gases from 1990 through 2016.

The Carbon Cycle:

A Carbon Cycle Science Plan, NOAA
Provides useful graphics and text to introduce the carbon cycle and makes relevant the importance of understanding this cycle.

The Carbon Cycle, NASA Earth Observatory
Explains the parts and processes involved in the carbon cycle.

Understanding the Global Carbon Cycle, Woodwell Climate Research Center
Reviews the basics of the global carbon cycle and how fossil fuels are linked to the cycle.

Carbon Dioxide and Climate:

Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Report, U.S. Energy Information Administration
Provides information on carbon dioxide emissions from US energy and industry.

Responding to Climate Change, NASA
Provides information on mitigating and adapting to our changing climate.

Our Changing Planet, U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
Examines initiatives to research and abate global climate change.

SDG 13: Climate action

SDG 13, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs The official page for SDG 13 to view a description, as well as the Targets and Indicators of this SDG.

From climate science to global action, World Bank A data-rich page on the global climate and the incidence of natural disasters over time.

Sustainable Development Report, Sustainable Development Solutions Network An interactive map to view progress of each nation toward each SDG.

 

Considering Sustainability *Fourth Edition

To learn more about reducing carbon emissions, visit:

How Do We Reduce Greenhouse Gases?, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Center for Science Education
A summary of ways that communities and nations can reduce the production and release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Smart Growth and Climate Change, EPA
An article on how land use and planning strategies can help maximize growth while limiting negative effects on climate.

 

Section 5: How Do Glaciers Affect Sea Level?

Learning Outcomes

  • Analyze and interpret data to explain the relationship between the growth and melting of ice sheets and changes in sea level.
  • Use mathematics to analyze and interpret glacial and sea-level data.
  • Use a model to demonstrate the effects of a melting ice sheet on the lithosphere.

 

Inquiring Further

To learn more about each topic, visit the following websites:

Pressure at the bottom of glacier:

Deformation and Sliding, AntarcticGlaciers.org
Describes how pressure at the base of glaciers affects the behavior of ice at depth within ice sheets and glaciers.

Vostok ice core data:

Vostok Ice Core, NCEI/NOAA
Search the Paleo database for information about the Vostok ice core. Articles include the CO2 record and evidence for Milankovitch cycles.

Vostok Ice Core Data Analysis, SERC Carlton
Examine 160,000 years of ice core data from Vostok Station. Data includes ice age, ice depth, carbon dioxide, methane, dust, and deuterium isotope relative abundance.

How Glaciers Affect Global Sea Level:

Is Sea Level Rising?, NOAA
Reviews terms commonly used to describe sea level change, the causes of long- and short-term sea level change, how sea level change is tied to global warming, how weather impacts sea level, and more.

Ice Sheets, Glaciers, and Warming Seas, NASA
Introduces ice sheet and glacier formation, their importance in regards to influencing and monitoring global climate, their influence on atmospheric and oceanic circulation, how glaciers move, and their impact on sea level change. Also looks at the technology that scientists use to study glaciers and find sea level.

Sea Level and Climate, USGS
Looks at how glacial-interglacial cycles impact sea level and how the melting of today’s glaciers could cause sea level to rise.

Why the Cryosphere Matters, National Snow and Ice Data Center
Reviews the influence of glaciers on sea level. Includes a graph that shows how glaciers have contributed to sea level changes over the past 40 years.

 

Section 6: How Rising and Falling Sea Levels Modify the Landscape

Learning Outcomes

  • Use a model to explain changes in coastal landscapes caused by a rise in sea level.
  • Use a model to explain changes in coastal landscapes caused by a fall in sea level.

 

Inquiring Further

To learn more about each topic, visit the following websites:

“Lost continents”:

Zealandia: Earth’s Hidden Continent, GSA Today Read about the portion of former Gondwanaland that is now mostly covered by water.

The missing continent that took 375 years to find, BBC The discovery of an eighth continent under the sea.

Beringian environment:

Postglacial Flooding of the Bering Land Bridge: A Geospatial Animation, INSTAAR University of Colorado
Provides an animation of the Beringia environment that shows sea-level changes during the last 20,000 years.

Bering Land Bridge Animation, University of Colorado Boulder
A geospatial animation of the last ice age.

How Rising and Falling Sea Levels Modify the Landscape:

Geologic History of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USGS
Reviews the geological history of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The link “Glacial Cape Cod” contains text and maps that explain the role of the Laurentide ice sheet in developing the Cape.

Geology of the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, National Park Service
Discusses what North America was like during the last ice age, with a focus on the Bering Strait land bridge. Includes various theories about the bridge as well as the plant and animal (including humans) migrations from Asia to North America. Includes color maps.

The Chesapeake Bay: Geologic Product of Rising Sea Level, USGS
Discusses the geological history of the Chesapeake Bay, which is essentially a river valley that was drowned when the Pleistocene ice sheets melted.

Sea Level Rise Impacts: Regional Case Studies, Smithsonian
Global examples of places already facing the consequences of rapid sea level change and how they vary around the world.

Sea Level and the Impact on Defense Installations on Atolls, USGS
Outlines impacts of sea-level rise and wave-driven flooding on freshwater resources on many low-lying atoll islands in the Pacific Ocean.

 

Considering Sustainability *Fourth Edition

To learn more about land use planning and infrastructure that can accommidate future sea-level changes, visit:

Using Green Infrastructure to Protect Coasts, EPA
An article on how living shorelines can help reduce the effects of sea-level rise on coastal erosion and human populations, inclduing a case study from Mississippi.

Adaptation Tool Kit: Sea Level Rise and Coastal Land Use, Georgetown Climate Center
A report with specific recommendations on how coastal lands can be used to plan for future seal-level rise.

 

Considering Sustainability *Fourth Edition

To learn more about sea-lelve rise and how it relates to urban planning, habitat loss, and conservation, visit:

Adaptation strategies for sea-level rise, Environmental Resilience Institute
How new infrastructure and changes in land use can help preserve coastal ecosystems and reduce human risks associated with seal-level rise.

Incorporating Seal Level Change Scenarios at the Local Level, NOAA
A report on how sea level rise scnarios can be calculated, how risk can be assessed, and the potential impacts of specific scenarios.

 

Section 7: How Might Global Warming Affect Your Community?

Learning Outcomes

  • Construct an argument based on evidence for the ways that higher global temperatures could affect your community.
  • Obtain and evaluate information about the factors that influence climate and the difficulty in predicting the effects of higher global temperatures.

 

Inquiring Further

To learn more about each topic, visit the following websites:

Calculating energy use:

Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use, U.S. Department of Energy
Provides a formula for estimating energy consumption.

Measuring Energy Usage, SaveOnEnergy Provides formula for calculating the annual cost to run a household.

Energy sources that do not produce carbon dioxide:

Solar, U.S. Energy Information Administration
Examine the benefits of solar energy as well as the different ways that solar energy can be harnessed and used.

Wind, U.S. Energy Information Administration
Examine the benefits of wind energy as well as the different ways that wind energy can be harnessed and used.

Your state’s cooperative research and extension service:

Cooperative Extension System, USDA NIFA
An educational network that provides informal and formal resources to learn about climate and other environmental concerns.

Problems with Making Predictions/Computer Models:

Predicting Effects of Climate Change: Increased Incidence of Landslides, Carnegie Melon University
Describes various climate models and their strengths.

Weather Prediction, Climate Prediction. What’s the Diff?, Duke University
Describes how weather predication and climate predication are different and the problems inherent in each.

Models of Future Climate Change:

Climate Models, Climate.gov
Models based on physical processes and data collected over time.

Future Climate Change, US Global Change Research Program
Describes projection of future climate based on the amount of heat trapping gases in the atmosphere.

Future of Climate Change, EPA
Examines what the future holds for the Earth with climate change.

Consequences of Climate Change, NASA
Describes results that scientists had predicted in the past would result from global climate change: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves.

National Close-up: Science Talk, Washington Post
Glacial melting effects many systems in and surrounding our oceans. Reporters address typical questions regarding these relationships.

SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy *Fourth Edition

SDG 7, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs The official page for SDG 7 to view a description, as well as the Targets and Indicators of this SDG.

How you can reduce your carbon footprint, European Youth Portal A summary of how individuals can reduce their carbon footprint to contribute to the achievement of SDG 7.

 

Considering Sustainability *Fourth Edition

To learn more about the potential effects of changes in sea level rise, ocean circulation patterns, and agriculture, visit:

Sea Level Rise Map Viewer, Climate.gov
An interactive map that can help determine if your community would be affected by varying estimates of sea level rise.

Ocean Circualtion, Ocean & Climate Platform
A summary of the potential effects of changes in ocean circulation.

Agriculture in a Changing Climate, USDA Cliamte Hubs
An article on how changes in climate can affect agriculutre in the U.S. Clicking on the Additional Resources link will take you to pages on specific regions of the U.S.

 

Earth/Space Sciences at Work *Fourth Edition

To learn more about each career and its connections to Earth Science knowledge and work toward the SDGs, visit:

Atmosphere: Power Plant Manager

Environmental Impacts of Power Plants, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
A reprot on how power plants can impact Earth’s spheres. Consider how these effects relate to specific Sustainable Development Goals.

Use the links below to compare the geosicence knowledge required by different types of power plant managers

Biomass Power Plant Managers, AGI
A page on the geoscience knowledge used by biomass power plant managers, with links to additional career info.

Gas Power Plant Managers, AGI
A page on the geoscience knowledge used by gas power plant managers, with links to additional career info.

Geothermal Production Managers, AGI
A page on the geoscience knowledge used by geothermal production managers, with links to additional career info.

Biosphere: Farmer

Food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
How the work of farmers relates to SDG 2: Zero hunger.

Sustainable Agriculture, USDA
A summary of aspects of farming and ranching and how practices can be made sustainable.

Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers, AGI
A page on the geoscience knowledge used by farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers, with links to additional career info.

Cryosphere: Ice Core Drill Operator

How Ice Core Drills Work, NSF Ice Drilling Program
A brief video on how ice cores are collected.

Drilling for ancient ice, The Royal Society
A brief video on foactors studied within ice cores that can give insights into past and future climate changes.

Careers in Antarctic Research, United States Antarctic Program
A summary of the many careers involved in work in the Antarctic.

Geosphere: Volcanologist

Sustainable Development – Geothermal Energy, European Geosciences Union
An article on how the study of volcanic activity can inform the geothermal energy sector.

Volcanoes and People: Partnerships for the SDGs, Geoscientist, Geological Society of London
An article on reducing the imapct of volcanic hazards on human populations.

Sustainable Development Goals and the Geosciences: A Review, Earth Science, Systems and Society Journal
How the work of a variety of geoscience careers relate to specific SDGs. Click “Ctrl + F” to search for “Volcanology” or download the pdf and go to page 5.

Hydrosphere: Coastal Engineer

National Importance of Coastal Engineering, National Academies Press
A summary of why the work on coastal engineers is important for maintaining ecosystems and coastal infrastructure, as well as for informing scientific research.

Reducing the ecosystem-based carbon footprint of coastal engineering, UN Ocean Conference
A report on modifications to work done by coastal engineers to reduce its carbon footprint.