A massive ice bridge, 40 km long and more than 500 m wide, that once connected two islands is no longer. See http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=36060 for a great visual: a labeled photograph of the area. The ice bridge had been in place for hundreds, probably thousands, of years and held back the Wilkins Ice Shelf. Now scientists believe the ice shelf, which has been receding since the 1990s, along with a number of other Antarctica ice shelves, will accelerate its recession. The short- and long-term impacts on sea level cannot be accurately predicted.

Rueters.com has the story, Ice Bridge Holding Antarctic Ice Shelf Cracks.  In addition, BBC News has a video with the voice of David Vaughn, the leading scientist who predicted the collapse and began monitoring the bridge this past January.

How to Turn This News Event into an Inquiry-Based, Standards-Related Science Lesson

The Developing Student Understanding section of the Earth and Space Science standard of the National Science Education Standards states students should investigate the four major interacting components of the earth system: the geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. This story touches on all four, some more obviously than others.

In consideration of atmospheric influences, you can ask, Where does ice fit into the water cycle? What caused the bridge to crack?  In consideration of the hydrosphere, you can ask, What impact will that have on sea level? In consideration of the biosphere and geosphere, you can ask, How might a change in sea level affect living things? Available land mass? Existing coastlines?

You can also reinforce methods in and the nature of science. How did David Vaughn predict the bridge’s demise? How does this observation fit with other observations of ice shelves? What can scientists do with these observations? What good are they?

The following are some related teaching resources from the National Science Digital Library Middle School Portal: Science and the Polar Regions; What Goes Around Comes Around: The Water Cycle; Oceans, Climate and Weather; Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears: Weather and Climate; and Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears: Water, Ice and Snow

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