Climate Change
Bremerhaven

At the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven, students will learn about climate change. Each of the eight stations at the Klimahaus will give students a better understanding of how climate change is impacting communities along longitude 8° 34’ E. They will also explore how our actions can contribute to climate change around the world.

KLIMAHAUS BREMERHAVEN Quad © Klimahaus/Voigts

How do our actions at home contribute to climate change around the globe?

As an introduction to this unit, watch the video Welcome to the Klimahaus available on YouTube by the Transatlantic Outreach Program.

During a visit to the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven, students will explore global climates and observable changes in glaciation, rainfall, sea level, and surface temperatures. Students will examine claims, analyze and evaluate data, and pose questions to clarify patterns in the evidence used to support a claim. Students will conduct explorations to understand the science behind observed climate change effects.

In this unit, students travel around the globe along the eighth meridian east. The lessons begin in Bremerhaven and will take the students to Isenthal (Switzerland), Seneghe (Sardinia, Italy), Kanak (Niger), Ikenge (Cameroon), Queen Maud Land (Antarctica), Satitoa (Samoa), Gambell (Alaska, U.S.), and Hallig Langeness (Germany).

At each station, students will:

Watch the corresponding YouTube video provided by the Transatlantic Outreach Program to learn more about each location.
Read the background information.
Use Google Earth to develop a sense of place.
Analyze a climograph and describe patterns of temperature and rainfall used to classify the location climate type.
Evaluate data and observations related to signs of climate change.
Explore the effects of climate change.
Explain the impacts of climate change.
Consider responses to climate change.
Engage in an activity.

Specific signs of climate change by location are:

Bremerhaven—sea-level rise and storm surge
Isenthal—Alpine glacial ice loss
Seneghe—invasive species
Kanak—Desertification
Ikenge—African rainforest changes
Queen Maud Land—Antarctic ice changes
Satitoa—sea-level rise and ocean acidification
Gambell—Arctic sea ice loss and permafrost thaw
Hallig Langeness—sea-level rise

Activities at Klimahaus Stations:

Bremerhaven (Germany): Students will propose a mitigation and/or an adaptation strategy for sea level rise and storm surges.

Isenthal (Switzerland): Students should learn that glacial melting and recession are associated with mudslides and rock slides in mountainous regions. They will create a virtual or a physical model to show why landslides occur when glaciers recede.

Seneghe (Sardinia, Italy): Students will create a slideshow presentation on what desertification means for the ecosystem in the affected region.

Kanak (Niger): Students should observe how vegetation could mitigate desertification.

Ikenge (Cameroon): Students will observe evapotranspiration.

Queen Maud Land (Antarctica): Students will model land ice melt.

Satitoa (Samoa):
Activity 1: For the first activity, students will model seawater expansion by designing a system.
Activity 2: For the second activity, students should model ocean acidification.

Gambell (Alaska, U.S.): Students will create a visual model of methane from thawing of permafrost.

Hallig Langeness (Germany): Students can identify materials that are the most environmentally friendly for inhabitants of the Halligen islands to use for human-made hills called terps.

Exlorations

Introduction

Welcome to the Klimahaus

At the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven, students will learn about climate change. They will also explore how our actions can contribute to climate change around the world.

View of the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven, behind it a view of the Atlantic Hotel Sail City. Von Till F. Teenck - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0 Von Till F. Teenck - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0

Station 1

Isenthal, Switzerland

In Isenthal, students will learn how glacial melting and recession impact the local community.

© Marco Meyer, Unsplash © Marco Meyer, Unsplash
Station 2

Seneghe, Sardinia

Students will explore the island of Sardinia in Italy and study the effects of desertification and invasive species.

© Jürgen Scheeff, Unsplash © Jürgen Scheeff, Unsplash
Station 3

Kanak, Niger

In Kanak, Niger students will learn about the nomadic Tuareg people, as well as desertification and how vegetation affects precipitation.

© Von Sputniktilt - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0 © Von Sputniktilt - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0
Station 4

Ikenge Cameroon

In Ikenge, students will explore the rainforest of Cameroon, and learn how logging is a threat to biodiversity to this unique place on earth.

© Chuttersnap, Unsplash © Chuttersnap, Unsplash
Station 5

Queen Maud Land, Antarctica

Students will learn about ice changes in the Antarctic and what this means for the planet. They will model land ice melt.

© Enrique Setim, Unsplash © Enrique Setim, Unsplash
Station 6

Satitoa, Samoa

In Satitoa, students will explore sea-level rise, as well as ocean acidification and what impacts it has on the coral reefs of the island and beyond.

© Ahmed Areef, Unsplash © Ahmed Areef, Unsplash
Station 7

Gambell, Alaska

Students will study thawing of permafrost and discover what this means for the human and animal inhabitants of Gambell.

© Hans-Jurgen Mager, Unsplash © Hans-Jurgen Mager, Unsplash
Station 8

Hallig Langeness, Germany

At the final station of the Klimahaus, students will return to Germany to learn how sea-level rise is threatening the existence of the Hallig Islands.

© Frank Schwarz, Unsplash © Frank Schwarz, Unsplash