Polar Meteorology: An Interactive Educational Web Module

The author has created a public web module that explores topics related to polar meteorology and climatology. Currently, the module contains sections on vessel icing, polar climates, climate change and web resources. The key feature of the web module is interactivity; each section has an exercise that requires the student to actively participate in his/her education rather than just absorb information. The climate section features active maps of the Arctic and Antarctic regions; when the user clicks on a region, a plot of the annual temperature cycle is displayed. The exercise requires the user to analyze factors that control climate by comparing regions and analyzing the differences in the temperature patterns. The climate change section features a global energy balance model that can be run online in less than two minutes. An easy-to-use online form is used to provide inputs such as surface albedo, horizontal advection, solar input and several other geophysical parameters into the model. The associated exercise examines how changes in these inputs affect global temperatures as a function of time of year and latitude, sea ice extent and sea ice thickness. All the exercises feature multiple choice questions with instant feedback after each question is answered. The module can and has been used in a stand alone fashion and in conjunction with other educational materials and media. This presentation will showcase the module in an online environment. You may examine the module for yourself by following the link below.