Hosted by OSOS , contributed by nuclio on 27 February 2019
Veja esta atividade em Português 
/ Δείτε εδώ την δραστηριότητα στα Ελληνικά 
/ Ver esta actividad en español 
Our beautiful planet is constantly under transformation. Sometimes, changes occur over a very long period of time and we barely note them. Some other times however, transformations are the result of massive and devastating events. In this activity we explore some of Earth's most intense and overwhelming events; volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. We will reflect on the impact of these natural phenomena on humans and their societies. You will also be challenged to design a citizens' alert programme in order to raise awareness in the local community and help your municipality in preparing citizens for such events.
Information for the teacher:
Author of this accelerator: Eleftheria Tsourlidaki (Ellinogermaniki Agogi) - eleftheria@ea.gr
This accelerator was created in the framework of the project - IDiverSE (Islands Diversity for Science Education - 2017-1-PT01-KA201-035919), co-financed by the Erasmus+ agency of the European Union).
The texts are writen direcly for the students and in a language that students will understand. Teachers are invited to explore it, copy it and edit whatever they feel necessary before they share it with their students. Specific guidelines were added to the four phases, where teachers can read the full content of the accelerator. For any aditional info on this accelerator, please contact eleftheria@ea.gr or info@idiverse.eu.
You can find more information as well as translation of this project to other languages through this link: http://idiverse.eu/restless-earth
Learning objectives
Students engage in a inquiry-based activity which will allow them to explore natural phenomena. They study the nature of these phenomena and understand the mechanisms that cause them. The activity is designed so that students will develop fundamental skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration. Finally, students are invited to become active citizens and propose a citizen's alert programme for the protection of the local community.
Opportunities to collaborate with stakeholders
Students will be challenged to interview, discuss and collaborate with different experts on the field such as scientists, historians, stakeholders in charge of the local community's safety, etc. Teachers could organize excursions to relative sites, indicate to students experts they can contact, and rewach out to family members and encourage them to participate in the students' project.
More specificaly:
1 - In the Feel phase, students need to do a search on past catastrophic events and find out the impact they had on their society. To do this, they can search the local records, talk to people in their community that might have lived through these events and try to find out how the authorities responded at the time.
2 - In the Imagine phase, students investigate a historic event related to a natural disaster. Students will need to do some reasearch on the event, talk to historians and other experts. Teachers can choose to organize a trip related to that event and bring students in contact with experts on the field.
3- In the Create phase, students are encouraged to collaborate with local authorities and local initiatives, their families and important stakeholders in order to design their own citizen's alert programm.
4 - In the Share phase, students will reach out to the whole community through their science trail, share their work, including important stakeholder entities who can reinforce the change-making progress.
Responsible Research and Innovation
One of the key aspects of OSOS is the inclusion of RRI - Responsible Research and Innovation principles in innovative pedagogical practices. RRI principles are addressed in the "Restless Earth" accelerator:
|
Governance |
Students will share their programme with different stakeholders in their home town and at national level. |
|
Public engagement |
Students will design a physical science trail in their home town in order to share their programme with the local community and raise awareness. |
|
Gender equality |
Nature and safety related topics are known to be popular to girls and boys alike. Girls and boys are given equal opportunities to participate, take leadership and share ideas.
|
|
Science Education |
"Restless Earth" is a multidisciplinary accelerator which combines not only science topics like physics, chemistry, geography and enviromental science but also history and literature. It invites students to engage in real‐life problems and make use of their problem solving skills while participating in meaningful and exciting science related activities. |
|
Ethics |
Students learn how to handle real data, they understand the value of having open access to reliable data to work with and reflect on the high value of sharing conclusions and results with the public. |
|
Open Access |
By getting open access to data for natural phenomena and make use of them to design their own citizen alarm programme, students get as first-hand understanding of the added value of having open access to scientific data. |
Feel
The loudest sound in the history of Earth!
Krakatoa is known to be among the 5 deadliest volcano explosions. However, it also holds a record of its own. The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 produced the loudest sound ever recorded in history. The sound was so loud it’s inching up against the limits of what we mean by “sound.” Have a look at the following video to learn more about it.
Additionally, you may read the following article: The Sound So Loud That It Circled the Earth Four Times
Deadly lakes
Even extinct volcanoes can pose a threat sometimes. Some very rare and mysterious phenomena are linked to sleeping volcanoes. Check the following video to learn what happened at Lake Nyos in 1986.
1816: The year without a summer
What exactly is a volcano capable of? Can a single eruption affect the whole planet?
Reflection
Discuss with your team following the sets of questions below:
How do Earthquakes, Volcanic eryptions and tsunamis affect us and the planet? Are people in the nearby areas the only ones who are affected? What are the long term effects of such a natural phenomenon?
The three stories mentioned earlier have one thing in common. No one saw it coming. Citizents were caught unprepared and uninformed. Do you think these disasters could have been avoided? Could the people have protected themselves?
Getting to the root of the problem
In order to get a better understanding of the effects of natural phenomena on our lives we are going to play the why-why challenge. Find a partner to play the why-why challenge. One of you, should ask a "Why" question related to the topic at hand (the effect of natural hazards on people). After your partner answers, ask "Why" again. For example: Why is there water shortage? - Because people waste a lot of water. - Why do people waste a lot of water? - Because they are unaware of the problem and don't know how to do proper management. Then switch roles and try again. You can repeat the process as many time as you want. Make sure you record every why-why set.
Is your local community prone to disasters caused by natural phenomena like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis? Have there been any related incidents in the recent past? If so what happened? Is there a safety protocol to be followed by the citizens? Write a small summary based on your thoughts and findings. Feel free to add images, videos and relevant references.
Imagine
Natural phenomena like massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis have not just caused disaster to cities or villages, they are even responsible for wipping out entire civilizations. Before proceeding with our work, let's take a moment and look back in history again and explore the impact of a natural disaster on past civilizations. Let's look into two such stories to get a better understanding.
The demise of the mighty Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands which flourished from c. 2700 to c. 1450 BC. It fell to its demise around 1100 BC approximately 50 years after the eruption of the Volcano at Thera (today known as Santorini).
The Minoan eruption of Thera, also referred to as the Thera eruption or Santorini eruption, was a major catastrophic volcanic eruption (Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) = 6 or 7, Dense-rock equivalent (DRE) = 60 km3) which is estimated to have occurred in the mid second millennium BCE. The eruption was one of the largest volcanic events on Earth in recorded history. The eruption devastated the island of Thera, including the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri -- as well as communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands and on the coast of Crete.
The eruption seems to have inspired certain Greek myths and may have caused turmoil in Egypt. Additionally, it has been speculated that the Minoan eruption and the destruction of the city at Akrotiri provided the basis for or otherwise inspired Plato's story of Atlantis.
Τhe Great Lisbon earthquake
On the morning of November 1st 1755, the "Feast of All Saints" day , an astonishing earthquake (of magnitude between 8.5 and 9) hits Lisbon. The earthquake, in combination with subsequent fires and a tsunami that roamed the city, almost obliterated Lisbon and the surrounding areas.
Here are some more information about the great earthquake of Lisbon:
Do you think the Minoans or the people of Lisbon where aware of the danger they were in? Could they have predicted what happened? Are there any signs that they had tried to protect their cities from such a devastation? Choose one of the two historic events or a similar event near your location and make a small research on the subject. Make a presentation based on your research to describe the event you investigated, its impact on the people at the time and any connections you can find between that event and the life of the people at that location today. Add your input here in your project.
Based on your observations and reflections so far, what do you think should be done in order to save as many lives as possible when phenomena like the ones mentioned above occur? What about people who live relatively far from areas where such disasters are likely to occur? Write a short piece to gather your thoughts on volcanic activity, earthquakes and tsunamis as natural phenomena and on their impact on humans. To what extend do they affect humans? Is it a local or a global problem? Can we do something about it? Write down any ideas and suggestions you have.
Create
Before thinking and looking closer at the proposed ideas about protection from natural disasters it is essential to get a deeper understaning of these phenomena. Click in the links below to learn about each of them.
(Important note: Before working on the activities below, your teacher should dublicate each space and give you the respective students' link)
Volcanoes | Earthquakes | Tsunamis
As you have probably already realized, the three natural phenomena being discussed here are closely related. Tsunamis can be caused by stong earthquakes or major volcanic eruptions. Active volcanoes also demonstrate seismic activity especially prior to an eruption. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are both directly related to the Earth's tectonic plates. If we wanted to monitor all of these phenomena and help protect citizens from them, what would be the best course of action? What should we be looking at in order to monitor such phenomena?
Your mission is to design a citizen's alert programm to help your municipality raise awareness among the locals on natural hazards and how to be protected. You will need to design a programme which will include to main strands:
a) Early Warning
b) Safety actions
Protecting a municipality from natural disasters is not an easy job. It would be good to get a clear idea of what it entails and how difficult it is to perform related tasks before you start your mission. Perhaps you would like to engage in a realistic disaster scenario and see how well you do in protecting the citizens. Click on the image below to visit the simulator.
Time to start your mission! Study the geography of your island (and the nearby area) as well as the local historic events related to natural disasters. Is the local community in direct or indirect danger due to such natural phenomena? Is there an early warning system in place? Is there any safety training programmes for citizens so they know how to be prepared and/or how to protect themselves in the case of such an event? How can your school help monitor such natural phenomena and alert citizens promptly?
Look back at your ideas from the previous phase and based on them design your own citizen's alert programm. Start by going through your ideas and deciding which ones have the most potential and are going to be the most effective ones. Make a detailed plan of action and distribute roles across your team.
You can use the Restless Earth globallab project, to collaborate with other schools that are actively involved in the same project.
Have a look at the links below to get some inspiration:
- Building a seismograph from scrap
- Schools Study Earthquakes
- Measuring the explosiveness of a volcanic eruption
- Experiments on earthquakes and volcanoes