Over 5-12 days, students synthesize their learning about ocean circulation, including the global thermohaline conveyor belt, through discussions, videos, and a culminating project. They analyze real or hypothetical ocean events, design an action project, and revisit their initial investigation to apply new concepts.
Students take a field trip to investigate some of the phenomena that they have been studying. They inventory debris along a shoreline or riverbank and study local water movement patterns to develop ideas about where the debris might have come from.
In this 3-4 day investigation, students explore how seafloor topography steers ocean flows and blocks deep water mixing. They create a seafloor model, test colored saline water, and reinforce learning through discussion, writing, and an animated video.
Students investigate how polar and tropical climates influence ocean currents by conducting an experiment with hot and cold water to observe density-driven movement.
Students conduct hands-on experiments to understand thermohaline circulation, learning how temperature and salinity affect density. They design their own experiments to simulate ocean mixing, building on introductory activities that define density.