Climate Change - What is the role of science?

Niwa scientists helped us understand the role of science in climate change. Click on the image above to see the online experience we followed.

We set up a fair experiment to test the effect of water saltiness on water density.  

Predictions - 

Oscar - the water is going to turn blue

Charlie - one will be lighter and one darker

Mason - one might be heavier and one might be lighter

Ella - the ice will melt slower in the salt water

Zach - the salt might rise to the top

Ashton - The salt water ice cube will melt faster

Cayley - the salt water is thicker

Kavya - the saltwater will rise

Dylan - the freshs waterwill rise and the saltwater will rise more

Edward - salt melts ice so the ice will melt quicker

Phoenix - the ice won't melt in the salt

We found the fresh water sat on the top of the salt water as it is less dense.  That means as the polar ice caps melt the fresh water will sit on top of the ocean and could change the currents.  Fresh water is also more acidic.  A more acidic ocean will effect the sea creatures with shells.

Knowing that CO2 levels were 400ppm 4 years ago, we predictedt the Co2 level today:

Brian - 800ppm

Vihan - 900 ppm

Nicholas - 600 ppm

William - 700 ppm

Edward - 300ppm

Dylan - 480ppm

The actual level is 424.78 ppm.  This means that despite knowing C02 causes climate change it is still rising.

Lastly we created posters to show the future we want to see and took action to help our native trees.

Slide Deck Showing the Future We Want to See

Next time we see Mrs Daniel we'll be reminding ourselves of the carbon cycle and exploring how it effects biodiversity.  We'll also look at the possible effects of climate change, especially on our Pacific neighbours.