What Are They Doing?

Raising a Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) sensor
Raising a Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) sensor
The northern Chukchi Shelf receives large inputs of organic matter from the highly productive shelf regions of the North Pacific and from local sources of primary production, including algae in the ice and sediment and phytoplankton in the water column. As a result, highly productive biological "hotspots" have been documented in the vicinity of Hanna Shoal. Because of the biological significance of this region and its importance for oil and gas exploration and development, the team planned a multi-disciplinary investigation to examine the biological, chemical, and physical properties that define this ecosystem.

Previous work in the area has profiled the biogeochemistry of the northern Chuckhi Sea, but this study focused more particularly on the Hanna Shoal region, looking at phytoplankton and zooplankton in the open ocean as well as the physical oceanography through direct measurement of circulation, density fields, and ice conditions.

Where Are They?

The Healy icebreaker crosses the Chukchi Sea
The Healy icebreaker crosses the Chukchi Sea
The team lived and worked from the United States Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy. The USCGC Healy is a research vessel designed to conduct a wide range of research activities and can break through 4 ½ feet of ice continuously. The team traveled to the Hanna Shoal, northwest of Barrow, Alaska in the Chukchi Sea, which may be a sensitive ecological system close to areas planned to be exploited for oil and gas exploration.

Latest Journals

Arctic – Homebound- Was I just in the Arctic on Saturday and now I am at home on the couch with the family and dog? Traveling by air can make the sense of time and place surreal. I can imagine that before air travel, people had a connection to the land and changes in the landscape as they…
Gravity Cores by Dr Lee Cooper Dr. Lee Cooper The gravity core is an instrument shaped like a missile. It is designed to forcibly enter a meter or more into the sediments. We are primarily using it to collect long, small diameter cores that are suitable for measuring sedimentation rates.…
Zooplankton Project by Dr. Ashjian- Dr. Carin Ashjian, scientist at Woods Hole Institute of Oceanography, at her microscope Zooplankton are small animals that live in the water and that swim so slowly that they cannot swim against the ocean currents. Zooplankton are important members of the…
Coring the bottom- Let’s see if you can shout “Haps” after reading this journal. The Haps Corer is the instrument used by teams studying the bottom of the Chukchi Sea. Simply, it is a tube that is forced into the bottom and removes a cylinder of sediment, which is called a core. On Team Benthos,…
Dates
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Location
USCGC Healy, Hanna Shoal, northwest of Barrow, Alaska on the Chukchi Sea
Project Funded Title
Chukchi Sea Offshore Monitoring in Drilling Area (COMIDA) Hanna Shoal Ecosystem Study
Deanna Wheeler - Teacher
Teacher
J. C. Parks Elementary School

Passionate about land and water, Deanna Wheeler is inspired to make sure that "no child is left inside". Hands on, real science is her priority. From hatching, raising, and releasing yellow perch and horseshoe crabs to participating in a pilot sturgeon project, her students discover how connected they are to the world around them. Ms. Wheeler's love of learning and the outdoors meld together in her professional and personal life. She is dedicated as a teacher and as a citizen to better understand and protect the environment for positive impacts on individuals, the community, and the health of our environment. Ms. Wheeler cherishes time spent with her family, exploring, camping, kayaking, reading, and just having fun.

Lee Cooper - Researcher
Researcher
University of Maryland

Lee Cooper is a research scientist with the State University System of Maryland, and has been working in the Arctic for approximately 30 years on interdisciplinary research problems. He is interested in high latitude oceanography, but has also worked on land, and in freshwater systems. His research specialty is biogeochemistry and he presently studies biological changes in the northern Bering Sea. He is committed to public service in support of improving arctic research through service on committees, organizing workshops, and teaching and public outreach responsibilities through the University of Maryland. Read more about Lee Cooper here [http://arctic.cbl.umces.edu]

Ecosystem Study of the Chukchi Shoal Resources

Nanjemoy civic leader and school teacher Deanna Wheeler was honored with the 2014 Charles County Heritage Award presented by the Conservancy for Charles County during its recent annual meeting at the Jaycees center in Waldorf.

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Online newspaper from Massillon, Ohio interviews teacher Deanna Wheeler about her second PolarTREC expedition to the Arctic and describes how her students have become directly involved in arctic studies.

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This press release in the Bayonet online newspaper from Maryland outlines teacher Deanna Wheeler's second "educational experience of a lifetime" in the Arctic with PolarTREC.

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Follow the Polar Expedition is a booklet designed for students to help them learn about the 2012 Chukchi Sea Offshort Monitoring in the Drilling Area (COMIDA) Hanna Shoal Ecosystem Study with PolarTREC teacher Deanna Wheeler. The expedition is August 5-25, 2012, aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter. The booklet has terms used on the ship as well as several activities

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Article from newspaper describing PolarTREC teacher Deanna Wheeler's expedition to the Chucki Sea in August 2012. This article is online in the Southern Maryland News.

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