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 51 - 75 of 146

This San Francisco Examiner talks with the PolarTREC teacher Amber Lancaster in Antarctica and her marine biology students back in San Francisco and the impact of the experience on their lives.

Article
Antarctic
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Working at Terra Nova, Antarctica. This is the Italian Base where PolarTREC teacher Brian Dubay and his team continued their study of the Transantarctic Mountains.

Video
Antarctic
Less than 1 period
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Helicopter flights in Antarctica with annotations on specific geographic and geologic features.

Video
Antarctic
Less than 1 period
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The Gaston Gazette article outlining PolarTREC teacher Liz Ratliff's upcoming expedition to South Pole Station, Antarctica with the IceCube project.

Article
Antarctic
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This local TV interview is about PolarTREC teacher Liz Ratliff heading to South Pole Station, Antarctica to work with the IceCube project.

Video
Antarctic
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Installing Seismic Stations on Glacial Ice with crevasses in Antarctica

Video
Antarctic
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Flying through the Eisenhower Range, Priestley Glacier, and Mario Zuchelli

Video
Antarctic
Less than 1 period
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SpaceWeather.com is an excellent tool used to predict space weather events like the Northern Lights and solar activity levels.

Web Link
Arctic
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Dr. Samantha Hansen and the team building and installing seismometers in Antarctica.

Video
Antarctic
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Introductions to Dr. Hansen's TAMNNET Team working on seismology and tectonic history of the Transantarctic Mountains.

Video
Antarctic
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Rachel Potter presents her research on the use of radar to measure surface currents in the top 2 m of the water column in the Chukchi Sea. The information gained from her research allows her to determine where water is going and how fast it is flowing, which can aid in issues of search and rescue, contaminant spills, marine navigation

Presentation
Arctic
Middle School and Up
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An article from the Mooresville Weekly, Mooresville, North Carolina, on Mike LeBarons upcoming departure to McMurdo Station to work on the WISSARD Project with researcher Ross Powell of Northern Illinois University.

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Antarctic
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Jeff Peneston, Liverpool High School science teacher and PolarTREC 2008 alumnus was introduced as the New York State Teacher of the Year at an event in the White House Rose Garden that was televised nationally on cable TV. The article describes the awarding of this honor by President Barack Obama at the White House.

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Antarctic
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Purpose

To apply prior knowledge of chemistry to the acidification of our oceans. This can be a computer lab or library based activity

Procedure

1. Set up a glass tank in your classroom and grow a population of algae in water. Local pet supply stores will most likely give you some for free from their fish tanks! 2

Activity
Arctic
About 1 period
Elementary and Up
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Overview

This lesson investigates the impact of melting and freezing arctic sea ice on the properties of salinity, temperature and density that contribute to the stratification of ocean waters. This lesson combines several learning approaches including a hands-on lab, a web-quest and collaboration with other students.

Objectives

1. Students will be able to explain and demonstrate how Arctic

Lesson
Arctic
More than a week
High school and Up
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The CIMSS/UW-Madison Global and Regional Climate Change course for G6-12 science teachers has been translated to Spanish and is now available online. The translation was done by Juan Botella, a native Spanish speaker who teaches high school science in Madison, WI and a former PolarTREC teacher. Read more about Juan here: http://www.polartrec.com/member/juan-botella

Web Link
Arctic
Middle School and Up

In mid-April 2012, five teachers from Denmark, Greenland, and the United States, were given the experience of a lifetime. The teachers lived, worked, and flew alongside airborne polar scientists in Greenland, and saw firsthand how remote data are collected on NASA’s Operation IceBridge. In the process, the experience provided the educators with better tools to teach students about science. Read

Article
Arctic
All Aged
n/a

This short video provides an overview of the types of rocks found in Antarctica and what we can learn about Antarctica from polar geology. This video is designed to accompany the September 2008 issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears. The magazine is a professional development magazine for elementary teachers.

Video
Antarctic
Less than 1 period
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Rocks and minerals make up the earth around us. But what exactly are rocks and minerals? What is the difference between them? How do they form? Where are they found? This article provides content knowledge about minerals, the three types of rocks, the rock cycle, and polar geology as well as online resources for further learning and connections to the

Web Link
Arctic
All Aged

Arctic Research Mapping Application. ARMAP is a suite of online, interactive maps and services that support Arctic science. Learn more about research projects in your region of interest or scientific discipline. Explore available data or possible collaborations. Use the online mapping tools to meet your own project's specific goals.

Web Link
Arctic
High school and Up

Excerpt from Katey Shirey's PolarTREC journal about Julie Katch, a draftsman working in Antarctica: I returned to McMurdo Station from the South Pole and got my new room assignment, a shared 5 bed berth in the main station building. I arranged to meet up with my new friend Julie Katch whom I'd met on the way through the first time

Polar Profile
Antarctic

This is a one hour webinar is part of the Polaris Project 2012, conducted by Max Holmes and John Schade. In this session Andy Bunn, professor at Western Washington University, presents a lecture on the history and science of climate change.

Event
Arctic
About 1 period

View sequential still images of thermokarst (thawed permafrost) at Horn Lake in northern Alaska during the summer of 2010. The video was made by researchers studying the responses of Arctic landscapes to permafrost degradation.

Video
Arctic
Less than 1 period
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This article describes the remarkable efforts of a team of scientists to extract cores from deep under a frozen lake in Siberia, Russia. PolarTREC teacher Tim Martin joined the project which will provide an astounding record of past climates preserved in layers of lake bed sediment. The sediment, withdrawn in cores and shipped to labs in Germany, represents a continuous

Article
Arctic
All Aged
n/a

Overview

Students decorate polysterene cups later to be submerged in the ocean. Subsequent activities have students consider the effects of water pressure and depth with respect to their cups.

Objective

Students will determine mass and volume of a styrofoam cup. They will calculate the density and research the depth of the Bering, Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. They will

Lesson
Arctic
Less than a week
Middle School and Up
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