Module VI

Essential Question:
How are the Earth, atmosphere and cultures all connected?

The atmosphere provides perhaps the strongest evidence that we, on this earth, are all connected. These layers of gases surrounding our planet protect us from the intense heat of the sun, but manipulate that heat to produce our weather. All weather can be attributed to the sun and how it heats our world unevenly. The physics of the weather is a system out of balance constantly trying to balance itself and achieve equilibrium. The complex processes of heat transfer, phase changes and winds of weather produce a global connection that scientists seemingly discovered by chance. The TD video about Arctic Haze shows an alarming connection of Alaskan ways of living and the industrialized world.

While winds move constantly around the earth, they also carry any contaminants with them. This polluted air accumulates in the atmosphere of the Arctic in winter because there is no sun up here to stir up the winds. Some of the particulates drop on the snow making it dark, so less heat is reflected from the surface of the earth causing warmer temperatures and melting. The contaminants may also drop in the ocean subjecting marine animals to a tainted food source. And so a sort of domino effect begins as animals ingest all of the toxins of species lower on the food chain. The more an animal ingests, the higher the levels of toxins. The polar bear has what is believed to be the highest level of POPs, persistent organic pollutants. These POPs are particularly dangerous as they have an affinity for fat, but resist degradation and build up in the fat. Arctic marine animals have a high fat levels and therefore high toxin levels stored there.

Cultures of the north are affected both by melting changes and their diet of marine animals. Villagers whose diet is made up of animals of lower trophic levels ingest fewer contaminants than people whose diet consists of animals positioned on a higher trophic level. Safety recommendations for diet are made regionally based on these findings. Areas that consume high levels of the toxins in their diet are facing the possibility of breaking thousand-year-old traditions of hunting and eating.

Barrow is the continent’s northern most city. While we would expect pristine environment and uncomplicated lifestyles, the factors we explored in this module play a role in their daily lives. The rules that guided their hunts and diets have changed. They are scrambling to keep up and preserve their way of life.