35-2 A Teachable Moment: Ice Sheets, Climate Change, and the Administration's Desire for Greenland

Session: Ice sheets, glaciers, and landscapes, oh my! (Posters)

Presenting Author:

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Greenland and its ice sheet are back in the news. This provides an “teachable moment” for geoscience students and faculty to consider ice sheet dynamics, climate change, and the intersection of earth surface processes and political discourse.

In this poster, I’ll provide transferrable examples of how I engage students and the public using Greenland, climate change, and people’s stories as catalysts. Many of these examples come from my recent book, When the Ice is Gone (WW Norton, 2024), a history of arctic snow and ice centered on Camp Century, the US nuclear-powered base built inside the ice sheet. Not only does the book detail the richness of research on glacial dynamics supported by the US military during the Cold War, but it provides relatable stories from a surprisingly diverse group people.

In my classes, I require students to engage (and minimize AI issues) by writing opinion pieces. The first is a structured review of When the Ice is Gone and a companion movie, The Story of Darkness, Light, and Ice. By asking them to identify specific strengths and weaknesses in these different communication media, I encourage them to think about the material and its relevance to their lives. The second requires each student to address climate change mitigation in their home town.

In public-facing communications, such as essays, talks, and opinion pieces, I’ve taken a different approach for bringing science to the public. I emphasize the US military’s involvement in early climate-change research, not an organization most people think of when they consider global warming, glacial melting, and the resulting sea-level rise. Because the Army, Navy and Air Force remain well-respected institutions, this approach allows me to engage with people and communities that might otherwise resist discussion of climate change and its effects.

The administration's focus on mining and fossil fuel extraction from Greenland without considering natural hazards exacerbated by the rapidly warming arctic––permafrost thaw, rockslide triggered tsunami, sea-level rise––make geoscience expertise critical and relevant. 

I look forward to discussing my approach and the approaches of others attending NE GSA at the poster session.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 2, 2026

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