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KIDS CORNER

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ThispresentationaimstoteachyouabouttheArctic.

Thispresentationhasthefollowingstructure:

Slide1- WhatistheArctic?

Slide2- ImportanceoftheArctic

Slide3- ArcticPhenomena

Slide4- ArcticEcosystem

Slide5- ClimateChangeandtheArctic

Slide6- LawsoftheArctic

Slide7- TerritorialClaims

Slide8- ExplorationandExploitation

Slide9- FunFacts

Slide10- AustralianCurriculumMapping

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WhatistheArctic?

AtthenorthernmostpartofEarth,thereisapolarregioncalledtheArctic.

ItiscomprisedoftheArcticOcean,adjacentseas,andpartsofAlaska,

Canada,Finland,Greenland,Iceland,Norway,RussiaandSweden.

ScientistsdonotagreeonastrictdefinitionoftheArctic.Themost

commonlyhelddefinitionistheregionabovetheArcticCircle.TheArctic

Circleisanimaginarylinethatcircumscribestheglobeatapproximately

66o 34’N.

However,otherscientistsplacetheArcticareanorthofthearctictreeline

wherethelandscapebecomesfrozenandisonlydottedwithshrubsand

lichen.Still,othersbasetheareaoftheArcticoffoftemperatures.This

definitionplacestheArcticasanylocationatahighlatitudewherethe

averagedailysummertemperaturedoesnotgoabove10oC.

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ImportanceoftheArctic

Frozenoceanwateriscalledseaiceanditforms,grows,andmeltsinthe

ArcticOcean.Duringthemajorityoftheyear,seaiceiscoveredinsnow.

Seaiceplaysadirectroleintheglobalclimatebykeepingthepolarregions

cool.

SeaiceplaysanimportantroleintheArcticbecauseit:

1.Reflectssunlighttobounceheatbacktospace

2.Influencesoceancurrents

3.Insulatestheair

4.Keepsmethanelevelsdown

5.Limitsthedevelopmentofstrongstorms

6.Supportsnativepeoples

7.Supportsnativewildlife

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ArcticPhenomena

TherearespecialatmosphericconditionsthatoccuronlyintheArctic.

Peopleareabletooftenseeandhearphenomenathattheywouldnotbe

abletoexperienceanywhereelseonEarth.

Thecoldtemperaturescoupledwiththemicroscopicicecrystalsthatare

suspendedintheairmakeslightandsoundtraveldifferentlyintheArctic.

Opticalillusionsarecreatedbythelayersofhotandcoldairwhichcause

thelightraystorefractorbendoffthesurfaceoftheice,clouds,and

water.Thecoldatmosphericconditionscausestrangephenomenawith

soundaswell.Peoplecanhearnoisesfromlongerdistancesawaydueto

thesoundwavesbendingdifferentlyinthecoldatmosphericconditionsof

thelowerlatitudesintheArctic.

Theauroraborealisisanamazingcolour displayintheskyovertheArctic

Circle.Itiscentred aroundthegeomagneticNorthPole.Theaurora

borealisisproducedwhenastreamofprotonsandelectronsemanate

fromthesun.Thissolarwindcombineswiththeoxygenandnitrogenin

theEarth’supperatmospheretoproducecolours oflightasthegases

ignite.Thevariouscolours appearfromthedifferentgasesatvarious

altitudes.

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ArcticEcosystem

Thenorthernpolarecosystemisinfluencedbyenvironmentalconditionsin

theArctic.Whileextremeweatherandclimateconditionshaveprevented

scientistsfromfullyexploringthevastecosystemoftheArctic,thereis

muchweknowabouttheinterconnectednessofthisharshenvironment.

Despitetheinhospitableconditionsofice,snow,darkness,andwinds,the

Arcticecosystemteemswithabundantlife.Thebuildingblocksofthis

ecosystemarealgaeandphytoplankton.Algaeandphytoplanktoncreate

sustenancefromtheraysofthesunthatsupportfishandplanktonwhich

providefoodforbirdsandwalruses,seals,andevenwhales.Asthetop

Arcticpredator,polarbearsthriveontheanimalsbelowtheminthefood

web.

Changesinthefoodwebthreatenthefabricofarcticlife.Thecreatures

thatsurviveintheharshestconditionsonEartharenotexemptfromthe

effectsofglobalclimatechange.

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ClimateChangeandtheArctic

TheArcticfeelstheramificationsofhuman-caused,globalclimatechange.

TemperatureshaveincreasedintheArcticmorethananyotherareaon

Earthoverthelast30years.ThefirstchangesintheArcticclimatewere

foundinthe1970sand1980s.ScientistshavetrackedArcticwarmingover

thelastseveraldecades.Thechangebetweenthefirsthalfof2010and

thereferenceperiod(1968to1996)hasbeenanincreasein4°C.

Changesareoccurringtotheseaice,snowcover,andamountof

permafrostwhicheffectstheentireplanet.Arcticwarminghascausedthe

seaicecovertodeclineaswellasthesnowcoveroverland.Northern

CanadaandGreenland’sglaciersaremeltingandretreating.Previously

frozengroundhasalsobeguntowarmandthawout.

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LawsoftheArctic

TheArcticdoesnothaveasingleinternationalgoverningbody.Instead,

thereisanArcticCouncilthatworksasacollectivegoverningbodyforthe

entireregion.TheArcticCouncildefinesitselfastheleading

intergovernmentalforumpromotingcooperation,coordinationand

interactionamongtheArcticStates,Arcticindigenouscommunitiesand

otherArcticinhabitantsoncommonArcticissues,inparticularonissuesof

sustainabledevelopmentandenvironmentalprotectionintheArctic.

TheArcticCounciliscomprisedofmultipleWorkingGroupsthatassess

andrecommenddecisionsbasedontheirextensiveanalysis.Decisionsare

madebyconsensusamongtheeightArcticCouncilStates,withfull

consultationandinvolvementofallPermanentParticipants.

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TerritorialClaims

TheArcticisanareaoflandthatencompassesthethreecontinentsof

Asia,Europe,andNorthAmerica.Withinthesethreecontinents,thereare

eightArcticstates.However,noneoftheseeightstatesfallsentirelywithin

theArcticregion.TheArcticactuallyonlycoversthenorthernmostregion

ofthesestates.

Nationalwatersareterritorialwatersthatare22kilometres or12nautical

milesoffthecoastofacountry.Denmark,Norway,Russia,Canada,andthe

UnitedStatesallhavenationalwatersthatareintheArcticregion.Thisis

significantbecauseoftheuntappedresourcesthatarebecomingmore

readilyavailableduetoclimatechangesallowforenhancedeconomic

opportunity.

Therecedingseaicehasopenednewpassagesformaritimetravelwhich

hassparkedfreshdebatesovertheArcticlandmass.TheLawoftheSea

TreatygrantedportionsoftheArcticanditsresourcesupto320

kilometres fromlandtoCanada,Russia,Norway,Denmark,andtheUnited

States.Thetreatyallowsthemajorityoftheformaldecisionmakingpower

togotoregionalorganisations suchastheArcticCouncil.

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ExplorationandExploitation

TheArcticistrulythenewscientificfrontier.Scientistshavebeenstudying

theseaice,thewatercolumn,andtheseafloorusingthelatestcutting-

edgetechnology.

Ahighdefinitioncameramountedonaremotelyoperatedvehiclehas

recentlytravelledasdeepas9000feet.Theinformationthatitgathered

hasunveiledviewsintothefrigidwatersthathaveneverpreviouslybeen

seenbyscientists.Collectingsamplesoforganismsinthewatercannow

beaccomplishedusingROV,multi-nets,andbottomtrawlerswhichallow

ustopeerdeeperintotheunexploredworldofarcticsealife.

“Icecoring”isatechniqueusedtogatherdataandinformationaboutsea

icealgae.Asscientistsassemblethisnewknowledgeanddata,theyare

abletounmaskthemysteriesoftheArcticfoodweb.

Majoroilandgascompaniesvieforaccesstotherichreservesinthe

Arctic,aligningsuperpoweragainstsuperpower.Whiletheterritorial

boundariesremainunclear,whatisknownisthatcontroloverthese

resourceswillbringeconomicwealthandprosperitytothewinner.

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FunFacts

- “Arctic”comesfromaGreekwordmeaningbear.Itreferstotwo

constellations“LittleBear”and”GreatBear”inthenorthernnightsky;

- ThecoldesttemperatureeverrecordedintheArcticisaround−70°C;

- BecauseoftheEarth’stilt,atleastonedayayearthereisanentireday

ofdarknessandalsoafulldayofsunshine;

- Approximatelyfourmillionpeople,calledInuits,liveintheArctic

region;

- OnespeciesfoundonlyintheArcticisthe narwhal,oftencalledthe

“unicornofthesea”;

- In1958,asubmarinecalledtheUSSNautilussailedbeneaththefrozen

iceoftheArcticOceanandprovedthattheenormousicesheetreston

waterandnotland.

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AustralianCurriculumMapping

GRADE5SCIENCE(ACSSU043):Livingthingshavestructuralfeaturesand

adaptationsthathelpthemsurviveintheirenvironment.

GRADE6SCIENCE(ACSSU094):Thegrowthandsurvivaloflivingthingsare

affectedbythephysicalconditionsoftheirenvironment.

YEAR7SCIENCE(ACSSU112):Interactionsbetweenorganisms,including

theeffectsofhumanactivitiescanberepresentedbyfoodchainsandfood

webs.

YEAR9SCIENCE(ACSSU176):Ecosystemsconsistofcommunitiesof

interdependentorganismsandabioticcomponentsof

the environment; matter andenergyflowthroughthesesystems.

SUSTAINABILITY(01.2):Alllifeforms,includinghumanlife,areconnected

throughecosystemsonwhichtheydependfortheirwellbeingand

survival.

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