It is a well known fact glaciers in the Himalayas are decreasing in size. What is less well known is the role black carbon plays in this.

Black carbon absorbs sunlight, in turn heating up the atmosphere causing snow to melt. The rate of snow melt can be slowed down as a result of knowing this information; controlling the effects of black carbon shows fast results.

The interesting information can be applied in the classroom to:

  • Introduce pupils to the complexity and delicacy of ecosystems by using this real-life example to highlight the inter-relationships between arctic systems, global climate change and glaciation

Kate Amis, a lecturer of Geography at Queen Mary University London, shared this idea after hearing Dr Tristram Irvine-Fynn, (University of Aberystwyth) speak about Ecosystems: Water and carbon cycles at a New Teacher Subject Day on Fragile Arctic ecosystems.

Schools Programme members can download the resources from the event in the PTI Staffroom.

Want to discover more inspiring subject knowledge? See our upcoming courses and events for 2017, including our CPD Subject Day on Practical Meteorology, our Geography Enrichment Residential and our New Teacher Subject Days course. 

Find more knowledge nuggets here!

Image: By Unknown via Max Pixel, licensed via Creative Commons (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en)