As reduced sea ice conditions bring increased shipping and development opportunities to the Arctic, Alaska Native Village Corporations are at the table with resource developers, representing the interests of their people and land.

Our planet is becoming hot. In fact, Earth may be warming faster than ever before. This warming will challenge society throughout the 21st century. How do we cope with rising seas? How will we prepare for more intense hurricanes? How will we adapt to debilitating droughts and heat waves? Scientists are striving to improve predictions of how the environment will change and how it will impact humans. Earth in the Future: Predicting Climate Change and Its Impacts Over the Next Century is designed to provide the state of the art of climate science, the impact of warming on humans, as well as ways we can adapt. Every student will understand the challenges and opportunities of living in the 21st century.

Our planet is becoming hot. In fact, Earth may be warming faster than ever before. This warming will challenge society throughout the 21st century. How do we cope with rising seas? How will we prepare for more intense hurricanes? How will we adapt to debilitating droughts and heat waves? Scientists are striving to improve predictions of how the environment will change and how it will impact humans. Earth in the Future: Predicting Climate Change and Its Impacts Over the Next Century is designed to provide the state of the art of climate science, the impact of warming on humans, as well as ways we can adapt. Every student will understand the challenges and opportunities of living in the 21st century.

This is a short activity that uses Google Earth to explore sea-level change as measured by tidal gauges around the world

Students learn how the greenhouse effect is related to global warming and how global warming impacts our planet, including global climate change. Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and how we react to these changes are the main points of focus of this lesson.

Lying directly south of New Orleans on Louisiana’s coast, Grand Isle often bears the brunt of strong waves and storm surge in the Gulf of Mexico. To protect this town and inland parishes from flooding, engineers constructed a first line of defense.

Water is essential for life on earth and of crucial importance for society. Also within our climate water plays a major role. The natural cycle of ocean to atmosphere, by precipitation back to earth and by rivers and aquifers to the oceans has a decisive impact on regional and global climate patterns.

This course will cover six main topics:

Global water cycle. In this module you will learn to explain the different processes of the global water cycle.
Water systems. In this module you will learn to describe the flows of water and sand in different riverine, coastal and ocean systems.
Water and climate change. In this module you will learn to identify mechanisms of climate change and you will learn to explain the interplay of climate change, sea level, clouds, rainfall and future weather.
Interventions. In this module you will learn to explain why, when and which engineering interventions are needed in rivers, coast and urban environment.
Water resource management. In this module you will learn to explain why water for food and water for cities are the main challenges in water management and what the possibilities and limitations of reservoirs and groundwater are to improve water availability.
Challenges. In this module you will learn to explain the challenges in better understanding and adapting to the impact of climate change on water for the coming 50 years.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum/Geology of National Parks module. Students work with a color-coded conditional-formatted spreadsheet map to work through a USGS report applying a coastal vulnerability index, examining real data related to relative sea-level change for different areas of the Californian coas,t including Point Reyes National Seashore.

Deep underneath Mexico‰ŰŞs Yucatan peninsula, underground rivers wind their way to the sea. In some places, the forest floor has fallen in, leaving holes in the ground to access these mysterious underwater caves. The holes, called cenotes, were considered openings to the underworld by the ancient Mayans. In this video, Jonathan teams up with an expert cave diver to explore these spooky underground rivers. Please see the accompanying lesson plan for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.

As the number of ice-free days in the seas surrounding Alaska increases over time, so do opportunities. Oil and gas companies are ramping up offshore exploration and drilling in the Arctic and the shipping industry is increasing traffic around and through the region. As a result, Arctic residents may have new opportunities for jobs and development across the region. There’s also a downside to the increased activity. Oil and gas extraction operations occasionally have accidents—events that can result in massive oil spills.

Louisiana’s Highway 1 carries a significant fraction of the gas and oil that comes from the Gulf of Mexico to distribution points in the United States. Faced with rising seas and sinking land, would the cost of rebuilding the road be worth the investment it required?

As the threats of tsunami and sea level rise are joined by real and potential climate impacts, the Quinault community looks to move the lower village of Taholah to higher ground.

If you’ve heard only one thing about climate change, it might be that sea levels are rising and many of the Earth’s islands and coastlines are at risk. But why? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), Professor James Renwick of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to break down the science of sea level rise and what’s in store for the future if we do — and don’t — significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sea level rise is already happening and affecting people right now. We invited Prof. James Renwick back to TILclimate to talk about the near future: what will sea level rise look like for coastal areas in the next 20 or 30 years, and what can we do about it?

In this unit, students will explore the causes of sea level rise and will examine short and long-term trends using sea level rise data. In addition, they will learn about the impacts to low-lying coastal communities and they will explore mitigation strategies. Finally, students will deepen their understanding of sea level rise by writing arguments focused on impacted communities and possible solutions.

In this lesson, students use geometry to investigate the question "How much would sea levels rise if Antarctica melted?".

Step 1 - Inquire: Students speculate how one could use geometry to calculate the water level produced by a melting block of ice placed on a classroom table.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students follow mathematical steps to answer the question "How much would sea levels rise if Antarctica melted?"

Step 3 - Inspire: Students explore the effects of sea level rise on coastal communities and the measures being taken to build resilience.

Residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast are familiar with the flooding hazards associated with storms, yet many are unaware of the risk of sea level rise. Shoppers at a local mall had a chance to explore the potential impacts of sea level rise on their communities.

City officials in Tybee Island, Georgia, recognized sea level rise as a growing problem for their community. Visualizations from a sea level rise viewer helped them raise awareness of the city's vulnerabilities and led to development of Georgia’s first sea level rise plan.

From changes in traditional foods to concerns of displacement from rising seas, this coastal community in the Pacific Northwest is assessing potential impacts to make decisions for their future.