Maths and climate change: The melting Arctic (2)
Curriculum links:
Maths and ... Geography
Curriculum links:
Maths and ... Science
Age range:
16 to 18
Cost:
£130 for up to 15 students, £195 for 15 or more (cancellation policy)
Date:
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Time:
10.00 - 15.00 (UK time)
Participating schools:
Ousedale School, Newport Pagnell, Bucks
Participating schools:
Nunthorpe (TSEF), Middlesbrough
Participating schools:
AIMSSEC, Cape Town, South Africa
Participating schools:
William Morris Sixth Form, London
Participating schools:
Pleckgate High School, Blackburn
Participating schools:
Havant College, Hampshire
Places still available?:
No This conference is now full, but we still have places on the alternative presentation on 26 November.
The Arctic ice cap is melting fast. Some scientists believe that the summer sea ice cover will disappear from the Arctic in as little as four years' time, and many predict that a total melt-down of the Arctic will occur within our lifetimes, with potentially dramatic consequences for humans, animals and the Earth's climate. But how are such predictions made?
Behind the figures quoted in the media lies an extensive body of mathematics, from global climate modelling, to understanding ice growth, helping researchers navigate around the Arctic, and analysing the data they bring back from their expeditions. In this video conference we will look at all of these aspects. Mathematical topics covered will include:
- mathematical modelling
- trigonometry and loci in two and three dimensions
- use of data to inform and misinform
We hope that there will also be a guest appearance from Professor Peter Wadhams, Head of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at the University of Cambridge.
