Actvity Summary: Students will be able to explain how the types of sediment on the seafloor are evidence of how ice cover changes in polar regions as a result of climate change.

This lesson has students analyze sediment in ocean cores from the Ross Sea to interpret as evidence of environmental changes. Emphasis is on observing patterns of sediment deposition to understand past regional and global climate changes. Before doing this lesson, students should understand glacial erosion and deposition during glacial expansion and retreat.

This lesson has been revised and updated based on Interpreting Antarctic Sediment Cores: A Record of Dynamic Neogene Climate.