Ice Core Investigation (Primary)

(Working like an Antarctic Scientist)

Introduction

This activity allows students of all ages and abilities to experience the kind of scientific work currently being carried out by scientists working in Antarctica. Students play the role of an Antarctic scientist by analysing a section of an ice core and draw conclusions from their own observations.

'Big Questions' this activity can be used to discuss

• How do scientists know what the Earth's climate was like thousands of years ago?
• How does Antarctic ice record the Earth’s environmental history?
• What experiments and tools can scientists use in Antarctica to find out about the past?

Background

Currently there are many scientists in Antarctica taking ice cores from undisturbed ice floes and they are analysing them so they better understand the physical, chemical and biological environment. They can use the information they find to work out what the environment was like when the ice formed and use it to make predictions about the future of the Antarctic environment. Presently scientists are investigating temperature, light attenuation, biological activity (visual identification, DNA and chlorophyll levels), dissolved nutrient levels and salinity within ice cores.

This hands-on activity is designed for primary aged students (6 to 13 years old) and we have substituted everyday items into the ice core for students to analyse and draw conclusions from.

Teacher Homework

What you will need:

• Some freezer space
• 1 litre cardboard milk cartons (or something similar with a regular shape and open top) – use as many as you want in your class. (Something circular like PVC piping with one end closed off would be ideal but milk cartons are much easier to collect.)
• Water and food colouring
• An assortment of goodies indicative of different environments (eg, sand, dirt, leaves, small plastic animals – use your imagination and whatever you have on hand!)

Advance preparation:

1. To create different levels in your ice cores, add coloured water (about 5cm) to your milk cartons and add a different 'goody' to each layer.
2. Leave consecutive layers to freeze before adding next layer – use alternate colours to highlight different layers. (Handy hint: add a piece of tissue paper between layers to make later separation easy.)
3. Continue layering until milk cartons are full.
4. Leave in freezer until you are ready for prac.

In Class

1. Introduce the 'Big Picture' ideas behind the use of ice cores.
2. Slide ice cores horizontally out of milk cartons onto shallow plastic trays (kitty litter trays are ideal for this).
3. Student can investigate ice core visually by watching it melt and taking photos before, during and after investigation.
4. Alternatively the teacher (or responsible students) could separate or slice the different layers using a serrated knife and separate them out.
5. Students record the length of each layer, observing its content as it melts, discuss what they find and record their conclusions.
6. Students are given time to complete chosen assessment task (see below).

Assessment Opportunities

• Write a report on what you found in your ice core and discuss what it might mean about the different conditions that the core was created in.
• Write a press release on any interesting information that the core revels about the environment.
• Draw a representation of your ice core, labelling the different parts of the core.
• Draw a representation of the environment suggested by one of the individual layers in your ice core.
• Prepare a timeline matching your ice core.