Module V Blog

Essential Question:
How are climate, cultures and oceans all connected?

Climate is affected by the ocean and the oceans are affected by climate: the two are inextricably linked. A brief look at the simplest version of the water cycle should be enough to convince most people that whatever happens to the ocean, happens to the climate and vice versa. There is a wealth of data showing the relationship between climate (in coastal areas especially) and the ocean. We are perhaps only beginning to realize that climate in non-coastal areas may be equally affected by changes in the ocean, but the essential relationship between water and climate is irrefutable.

For example, in northern and central California, coastal upwelling affects the coastal climate by bringing cool water to the surface of the ocean and producing San Francisco's famous fogs. In more dramatic fashion, upwelling cold ocean water reduces the likelihood of cyclones (hurricanes), because these weather events rely on extremely warm water surface temperatures. The incredibly destructive hurricanes of the 2005 season (including Katrina: see image at right) were due to the warmer surface ocean temperatures recorded that year. There is currently no consensus on whether these warmer surface temperatures are a result of human activity or not, but it's clear that warmer surface water = more severe storms.

Cultures are profoundly linked to the climate of their geographic location. Witness the Mesopotamian "cradle of civilization" that developed at the confluence of two great rivers. If the climate of the area had changed and dried up the flow of the Tigris or Euphrates, you can be assured that the cultures of the region would have been very different because the ways of farming, traveling, and holding commerce in the area would either have disappeared or altered dramatically to suit the new conditions.

We are no different in modern times. Anyone who has traveled from one region of the United States to another knows that each area has its own culture that is, at least in part, influenced by the climate of its geographic location. Northern cultures celebrate the return of the sun after a long dark winter while southern cultures celebrate the return of rains and coolness after a baking hot season. Different traditions, foods, songs, and skills revolve around the climate and geography where people live.

Because of this relationship between the oceans, climate, and culture, changes in the ocean or climate will inevitably lead to changes in cultures. To take a dramatic example, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita changed the culture of an entire region of the United States when they struck in fall of 2005. The coastal regions of Louisiana and Mississippi were the worst hit, and people evacuated by the thousands. Many historical sites were destroyed, and some of the old-time residents of the area either died in the storms and their aftermath or never returned. As a result, the cultures of these coastal areas are profoundly affected, both by the loss of wisdom in the person of their elders, and by the loss of history in their oldest structures.

The same theme holds true in Alaska. Because ocean temperatures are warmer, sea ice forms later in the year and breaks up sooner. Because the sea ice is present for a shorter period of time, polar bear populations are suffering and people are less able to hunt polar bears. Traditions of hunting, ice survival, and food preparation are being put on hold, and possibly will be lost. On land, warmer temperatures and changes in rainfall cause different plants to grow in an area. Local people can’t harvest the same plants and berries they always harvested, or must change their traditional practices. Hunting and gathering practices are essential to different Alaska Native cultures, and when the hunting and gathering practices are lost or changes, culture is lost or changed.

I think that, especially with Alaskan kids, this linkage between culture, climate, and the oceans is an important one. So many Alaskans make their living from the ocean, and, unfortunately, those livings sometimes conflict with one another (for example, pollutions dumped by cruise ships in fisheries areas). I would start a unit by exploring water’s relationship with thermal energy – the capacity of water to absorb and retain heat, and the time it takes to do both. There are some cool demo’s in this module that I can easily take directly into my classroom with the additional benefit of working in skills like graphing, and since the Celsius system was developed based on the freezing point of water, it makes the math and graphing very easy. Once the students understand the relationship between water and climate, it should be easy to bring in examples of how climate affects culture.