Update

In case you missed Erin's live presentation with Dr. Sarah Das from Ilulissat, Greenland, you can watch the archive here https://www.polartrec.com/polar-connect/archive.

What Are They Doing?

The Greenland Ice Sheet near Kangerslussuaq, Greenland.
The Greenland Ice Sheet near Kangerslussuaq, Greenland. Photo by Tina Ciarametaro.
Estimates of the Greenland ice sheet's contribution to sea level rise over the next century range from a few centimeters to over one meter. Differences of a few millimeters per year may be significant in lowlying, populous coastal areas where planning with such a large range of uncertainty has high economic and social costs for governments, communities, and businesses. This study will improve our understanding of how increases in surface runoff will influence ice flow and subsequent loss of water mass from the Greenland ice sheet to the oceans.

Where Are They?

An aerial view of Ilulissat, Greenland.
An aerial view of Ilulissat, Greenland. Photo by Russell Hood.

Ilulissat is a coastal town in western Greenland. It's known for the Ilulissat Icefjord and for huge icebergs Disko Bay, shed by the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier.

Latest Journals

“There is no delight in owning anything unshared.” — Seneca Haley Dunleavy, DEI manager for Toolik Field Station, and high school chemistry teacher and Upward Bound instructor Alex Chumbley exchanging ideas on a hike down the West Glacier Trail, Juneau Alaska. Figuring out what to do with the…
The first thing I noticed was the smell of the lilacs as I stepped out onto the hot pavement in downtown Augusta Maine. As I walked into the building and on the way up the stairs, smells of home hit me, laundry detergent, a light wisp of perfume that I do not often wear, and the smell of the dirt…
You know you have been invited to dinner with field scientists when you see this on the porch. It is our last day today. The day is filled with packing and relaxing a bit before the three day journey back to Maine including overnight stops at Kangerlussuaq International Science Support and…
Abstract photo of the surface of the Western Greenland Ice Sheet which shows cryoconite holes. Cryoconite is granular sediment found on glacier surfaces comprising both mineral and biological material. In Greenland there are no railroads or inland waterways and very few roads. There are 90…
Dates
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Location
Ilulissat, Greenland and West Greenland Ice Sheet
Project Funded Title
Using seismic tremor to constrain seasonal variations in subglacial hydrology at the bed of the Greenland ice sheet.
Erin Towns - Educator
Educator
Edward Little High School

Erin Towns is an experienced and adventurous social science teacher at Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine USA. Erin is a 2018 National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow and alumni of numerous global professional development programs who uses world travel experiences to create experiential lessons and strategies for students and teachers that address contemporary global and environmental issues. She values using inquiry based social studies and science methodology in the classroom and she continually pushes students to take action using informed knowledge and discourse that promote and encourage public awareness and engagement. Her students regularly share solutions oriented geo-inquiry projects with local school administrators, city councils, business leaders, state legislators, and public officials using storytelling with the goal of inspiring others to act. Erin shares knowledge and curriculum ideas that connect climate change phenomena and social, policial, and economic conflict with educators at state and national levels. Erin is an active member of the Maine Council for Social Studies and serves as Teacher Ambassador of The Camden Conference in the Classroom Program, a foreign policy organization in Maine which serves fifteen schools and promotes public discourse on topics of global relevance. Her greatest passion is exploring outside of the classroom with her diverse community of students and watching them make connections between the human and natural world. She is humbled and grateful for the opportunity to build relationships with these phenomenal young women and men who consistently amaze her everyday with their hard work, humor, and creativity. Erin will integrate what she learns about the Greenland Ice Sheet’s contribution to sea level rise into social studies curriculum and citizen science research projects related to the Gulf of Maine.

Sarah Das - Researcher
Researcher
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Dr. Sarah Das is a glaciologist and climate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her specific research interests include understanding and measuring polar ice sheet mass balance and ice dynamics; the reconstruction of past climate from ice cores; exploring the interaction between the coupled cryosphere-atmosphere-ocean systems; and investigating biogeochemical processes in polar environments. Since her first trip to Antarctica in 1995, Dr. Das has led or participated in over 20 field expeditions to the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. In addition to her scientific studies, she is committed to sharing her knowledge of the polar regions and climate change with students and the public through photography, education, and outreach activities.

Greenland Subglacial Tremor Project Resources

The PolarTREC Field Experience

The Greenland Subglacial Tremor Project started its work two years ago, planning logistics and travel for an expedition to Western Greenland. The field experience was delayed for two years due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. We finally deployed to Ilulissat, Greenland to study how glacier meltwater influences the speed and amount of ice flow and the rate

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Article about Erin Towns joining research team to study glacier dynamics in Greenland.

 Lewiston-Auburn Posted April 28 Updated April 29 increase font size Resize Font Edward Little High School teacher to spend 3 weeks studying Arctic Circle  Erin Towns joins research team to study glacier dynamics in Greenland. facebook tweet reddit email print By Daryn SloverSun Journal 1 of 6 Social studies teacher Erin Towns and her Edward Little High School students talk April 15 about her research trip to Greenland prior to her leaving for the Arctic Circle on April 23. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Lewiston-Auburn Posted April 28 Updated April 29 increase font size Resize Font Edward Little High School teacher to spend 3 weeks studying Arctic Circle Erin Towns joins research team to study glacier dynamics in Greenland. facebook tweet reddit email print By Daryn SloverSun Journal 1 of 6 Social studies teacher Erin Towns and her Edward Little High School students talk April 15 about her research trip to Greenland prior to her leaving for the Arctic Circle on April 23. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

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This PolarConnect event with teacher Erin Towns and researcher Dr. Sarah Das was broadcast live from Ilulissat, Greenland on 10 May 2022. The team was working on the Greenland Subglacial Tremor Project.

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Jennifer Heidrich of the Warming and Removals in Mountains of Northern Canada expedition and Erin Towns of the Greenland Subglacial Tremor Project, have teamed up to create a podcast. Both educators teach at Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine.

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Sun Journal article coverage of two Edward Little High School teachers's, Jenn Heidrich and Erin Towns, both selected for PolarTREC expeditions. Jenn Heidrich was selected to go on an expedition in Yukon, Canada, and Erin Towns was selected to go on an expedition to Ilulissat, Greenland.

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