Can we use mud to understand climate change?

Suitable for 14 to 19-year-olds (secondary and high schools, and college), this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom or shared with students online.

This resource links to KS4 and KS5 Science, Mathematics and Computing.

It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks:
Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• This teaching resource explains the work of Professor David Thornalley from University College London, in the UK, a climate scientist who has been using data from ocean floor mud to understand how the Atlantic Ocean has changed over thousands of years into the past and how it may change in the future due to climate change. His data show that the ocean’s circulation has been weakening, probably as a result of human-caused warming.
• This resource also contains an interview with David. If you or your students have a question for him, you can submit it online – go to the article using the Futurum link below and scroll to the bottom of the page. David will reply!
• The activity sheet provides ‘talking points’ (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) to prompt students to reflect on David’s research, and tasks them to investigate how our oceans are being affected by human activity.
• The animation summarises David’s research and is accompanied by a script.
• The PowerPoint reiterates the key points in the article and includes further talking points to encourage students to reflect on careers in climate science.

This resource was first published on Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE).

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