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Melissa Barker

About

Melissa Barker's picture
Expeditions: Nutrient Transport in Arctic Watersheds
Occupation: Teacher
Organization: Alexander Dawson School

Melissa Barker teaches Biology and Environmental Science at the Alexander Dawson School outside of Boulder, CO. She is in her 14th year of teaching science and holds a Masters in Natural Science and Science Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Ms. Barker strives to help her students connect biological concepts to their own lives and to experience and engage in the process of science. She loves to extend her students’ learning outside of the classroom. Her students have studied marine biology in Florida, snow science in the Colorado backcountry, and organic agriculture in their own backyard. Ms. Barker directs the experiential education program and founded Dawson’s cyclocross team. When not teaching Ms. Barker is an avid bike racer and enjoys getting into the wilderness on foot and skis with her husband.

Melissa Barker's Content

Title Reply Post date
Helium

Hello Matthew,
I hope you got my answer to your question from your teacher, Ms. Seff. I passed the answer along to her because I didn't have Internet.
But in case you are still wondering or anyone else is...

We use ultra-high purity Helium. UHP means it is 99.9% Helium, so we...{read more}

June 23, 2012 - 10:30am
missing the Arctic

Thanks Janet! I am missing the Arctic already, esp because of this crazy heat in CO. But it is nice to be home.
Thanks to you and everyone else at PolarTREC for this incredible opportunity.
Melissa

{read more} 		June 23, 2012 - 10:32am
birds

Hello!
Sorry for the delay in response, I did not have Internet for a while. I saw tons of great birds in the Arctic such as snowy and short eared owls, Bluethroat, Arctic Turns, Jeagers and lots of ducks. You can read more about my birding adventure in my June 4th journal entry... check...{read more}

June 23, 2012 - 10:38am
Bird post

Thanks for the message Bill! It is nice to know that someone out there is reading my journals!
Melissa

{read more} 		June 23, 2012 - 10:39am
weirs

Hello Amber! Great to hear from you. I really enjoyed your journals... now to answer your question.
The weirs direct the flow from the water track to a notch where we can then measure flow rate. Once the ground thaws more we will install flumes at the notch that will help with the...{read more}

June 1, 2012 - 9:12pm
Increasing temperatures

Hello Dylan,
Thank you for your question. We are actually investigating this question in our project. We do have data from deep holes in the ground that tell us that the ground temperature is warming. You can see this data here:...{read more}

May 29, 2012 - 10:49am
Time Change

The time change between my home town and here at Toolik is only two hours, so the time change didn't really affect me.
However, the constant day light is a different story. I continue to find it strange to walk out of the lab at 10pm and have it feel like noon. Due to having sunlight all...{read more}

May 28, 2012 - 10:04pm
The sun

Hello Olivia,
I actually had the same question before I came to the Arctic. I expected it to get a little darker, but it stays pretty light out all the time unless it is cloudy. When it is cloudy the day is just not as bright, but even when I head to bed at 11pm, the amount of light makes...{read more}

May 28, 2012 - 12:49pm
Rain

Hello Ryan,
The journal entry you are asking about was written when I was still at home in Boulder, CO. Boulder is often very dry and our spring was very warm and dry this year.
Any rain we get in Boulder helps provide moisture for the plants and potentially decreases wildfire danger...{read more}

May 28, 2012 - 12:50pm
Insulated xtra-tuffs thank

Insulated xtra-tuffs thank goodness!! It has been pretty cold the last few days and I was so glad my boots are insulated.
Melissa

{read more} 		May 28, 2012 - 12:46pm

Journal Timeline