Earth System Analysis

                                                            Earth System Analysis

During this week in MSED 252, we performed an Earth System Science Analysis. An Earth System Science Analysis involves examining an event and the responsibilities of each sphere and their interactions with one another. As a class, we split off into teams and discussed the situation given to us. The event was hurricane, Katrina. We read and analyzed the situation, listed initial hypotheses, ideas, and what was already known and unknown. After that, we had to figure out what needed to be done, in order for us to figure out how it affected each sphere.  

We split off into different teams. And each group was assigned their own sphere to do research on. After we conducted our research, we came back to the initial group and discussed what we found. I had the biosphere and below is what our group found.

Hurricanes can have extreme damage on the biosphere, like destroying, damaging, injuring, and killing what the biosphere has created.

Things affected: wildlife, plants, insects, humans, buildings, homes, powerlines, etc.

Damage can be permanent or temporary.

The biosphere itself doesn’t really affect the hurricane.

Hurricanes can tear and kill plants and release CO2 into the atmosphere.

They also cause phytoplankton blooms, which creates more food for marine life.

Hurricanes can cause a decrease in salt levels in the water, which can shock the fish and other marine wildlife. (killing them)

I shared all of the information, that I found, with my group members and they did the same. We then came back as a whole class and found how the spheres interacted with one another. In addition, we created a concept map that represented how each sphere was affected and what we could to do prevent situations like hurricane Katrina. I enjoyed this activity and believed that it would work well in my future classroom. The students could learn about a natural disaster or event and interact with other students to figure out how it affects the different spheres.