Explore physical science in the polar regions.
Explore physical science in the polar regions.

Welcome to the Physical Science Collection, a library of resources for educators and the public interested in learning more about the non-living systems in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The field of physical science includes but is not limited to physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, and other sciences that analyze the nature and properties of energy and nonliving matter.

The Collection includes individual activities, lesson plans, journal entries, videos, and presentations that will educate the next generation about this complex field of study. All materials are created and compiled by world-class educators participating in authentic scientific research in the polar regions through PolarTREC expeditions.

The Physical Science Collection is utilized as class material in the Cyber-based Interdisciplinary Science Education Professional Development Courses offered through the University of Alaska- Fairbanks in conjunction with PolarTREC. The collection is funded by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States and the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs.

National Science FoundationArctic Research Consortium of the United StatesUniversity of Alaska- Fairbanks


Displaying 26 - 50 of 146

This scientific article, focuses on one of the largest pools of global carbon that is, the organic C stored in permafrost (perennially frozen) ground, and on the vulnerability to change under an increasingly warmer climate.

Article
Arctic
High school and Up
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Overview

Have you ever wondered how polar scientists do it? How do they really know if the planet is losing vast quantities of ice anyway? You can use pictures from satellites to monitor the surface from year to year, but the vast majority of ice is hidden from view, buried beneath the surface in some of the most inhospitable and

Lesson
Arctic
About 1 period
Middle School and Up
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A scientific report describing the results of the CiPEHR Experiment as of 2011. This report attempts to answer these questions: (1) Does ecosystem warming cause a net release of C from the ecosystem to the atmosphere?, (2) Does the decomposition of old C that comprises the bulk of the soil C pool influence ecosystem C loss?, and (3) How do

Article
Arctic
High school and Up
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The Geophysical Institute Permafrost Laboratory (GIPL) The Permafrost Laboratory deals with scientific questions related to the circumpolar permafrost dynamics and feedbacks between permafrost and global change. At the Permafrost Laboratory, data related to the thermal and structural state of circumpolar permafrost is collected and analyzed. The focus of our research is the development of methods to physically and mathematically model

Web Link
Arctic
All Aged

Overview

Students will conduct a demonstration that will help them gain a better understanding of the water cycle and runoff in a watershed. They will be able to replicate arctic and non-arctic watersheds by varying the size of the watershed. They will be able to visualize the difference in runoff by creating hydrographs of these different locations.

Objectives

* Students

Lesson
Arctic
Less than a week
Middle School and Up
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This one hour webinar is part of the online polar professional development course on physical science for educators. Dr. Hansen focuses on her research of the tectonic history of the Transantarctic Mountain in Antarctica.

Event
Antarctic
About 1 period

Overview

Students will investigate the breadth and depth of science taking place in the Polar Regions by reading and learning about one PolarTREC expedition and sharing it with the class.

Objectives

* To expose students to the wide variety of science happening in the Polar Regions * To help students understand the process of science by examining one

Lesson
Arctic
Less than a week
Middle School and Up
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What kind of rocks make up Antarctica? What geological processes are occurring today? What rock and mineral resources exist there? Learn more from this website. For a more generalized review of Antarctica you can also start here

Web Link
Antarctic
All Aged

Antarctica's Gamburtsev Province Project (AGAP) provides an overview of antarctic geologic information.

Web Link
Antarctic
Middle School and Up

How Physical Processes Form Physical Features. PolarTREC researcher Samantha Hansen shares this resource as a background to her work and information on geologic processes.

Web Link
Elementary and Up

Class notes and detailed information on mountain building. PolarTREC researcher Samantha Hansen shares this resource as a background to her work and information on geologic processes. Created by John C. Butler, July 29, 1995. Credit to: John Butler jbutler [at] uh.edu

Web Link
Middle School and Up

PolarTREC researcher Samantha Hansen shares this resource as a background to her work and information on geologic processes.

Web Link
Middle School and Up

The seismic equipment that is being used for TAMNNET (studying the Transantarctic Mountains) was specially engineered for use in polar climates. Polar projects commonly require a level of support that is several times that of seismic experiments in less demanding environments inclusive of very remote deployments. This site offers great engineering insights, design drawings, and additional related links.

Web Link
Middle School and Up

UPSeis (pronounced "up size") is a program created to teach young people (and not-so-young people) more about the planet we live on and how it works. The UPSeis program is divided into two parts: this web site and a school program.

Founded in 1984 with support from the National Science Foundation, IRIS is a consortium of over 100 US universities dedicated to the operation of science facilities for the acquisition, management, and distribution of seismological data. This weblink is directed to their education and public outreach resources.

POLENET (The Polar Earth Observing Network) is a global network dedicated to observing the polar regions in a changing world. The project is focused on collecting GPS and seismic data from autonomous systems deployed at remote sites spanning much of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. GPS and seismic measurements together provide a means to answer critical questions about ice

Web Link
Antarctic
Elementary and Up

This website is an overview of the TAMSEIS project addressing the questions of the Transantarctic Mountain origins and the structure of the East Antarctic craton.

Web Link
Antarctic
High school and Up

This website is an overview on the Transantarctic Mountains with information on geography, geology, mechanisms for formation, issues, and additional references.

Web Link
Antarctic
High school and Up

The Roof at the Bottom of the World: Discovering the Transantarctic Mountains comprehensively documents the 1,500-mile length of the Transantarctic Mountains. It is the first atlas of the most remote mountain range on Earth. The presentation is historical, following a narrative of the voyages and traverses of those parties that were first to behold new lands.

Web Link
Antarctic
All Aged

National Earth Science Teachers Association website, Windows to the Universe, presents the basics on mountain building processes.

Web Link
All Aged

A one hour webinar by Dr. Samantha Hansen on geology and seismology in Antarctica as part of a webinar series for IRIS Core Programs. (www.iris.edu)

Presentation
Antarctic
High school and Up
n/a

Ice Stories is a project from the San Francisco Exploratorium as 'Dispatches from Polar Scientists' as an outreach effort from the 2007-08 International Polar Year. The Antarctic Geology focuses on mountains in East and West Antarctica. Be sure to check out the videos associated on the website "Secrets of Bedrock" and "Mystery Mountains".

Web Link
Antarctic
Middle School and Up

Press release about the launch of Operation IceBridge's 2013 season of research activity and science flights over Arctic ice sheets and sea ice. Operation Icebridge will undertake survey flights over land and sea ice in and around Greenland and the Arctic Ocean through early May in order to maintain a continuous record of polar ice measurements.

Article
Antarctic
All Aged
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Chicago Tribune article describing PolaTREC teacher Mark Buesing's expedition to Greenland with NASA's Operation IceBridge.

Article
Arctic
All Aged
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Article describing PolarTREC teacher Mark Buesing's upcoming expedition to Greenland in April to participate in NASA’s Operation IceBridge, a six-year mission to map polar ice.

Article
Arctic
All Aged
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