Essential Question:
How are climate, terrestrial ice and Alaskan indigenous cultures all connected?
Ice Land
The story of terrestrial ice (ice on land) and its associated cultural connections is very different from that of the seasonal ebb and flow of polar sea-ice. Quite apart from the fact that terrestrial ice is formed from frozen fresh water instead of saline sea water, terrestrial ice also has a complex time scale because of its different set of variables.
Changes in temperature along with changes in latitude, altitude, precipitation and the different heat capacities of land and water all interact to create the dynamic realm of terrestrial ice; glaciers, permafrost, rivers and lakes.
Just as Arctic cultures have developed a unique and vital relationship with sea ice, similarly vital relationships are formed between people who live along, and rely upon, terrestrial fresh water systems - some of which cycle between solid and liquid on an annual basis - and others which have freeze/thaw cycles lasting hundreds to hundreds of thousands of years....or more!
Besides the science of how these complex systems interact, this module will explore how the different kinds of terrestrial ice are connected to climate change and to culture.
