Update

Now Archived! PolarConnect event with Kim Young and researcher Christina Minions from Weston, Massachusetts on 8 April 2019. You can access this and other events on the PolarConnect Archives site.

What Are They Doing?

The smaller CO2 Flux Chambers, FC, are the control chambers and do not warm the ground. Photo by John Wood
The smaller CO2 Flux Chambers, FC, are the control chambers and do not warm the ground. Photo by John Wood
This NASA-funded project aims to improve understanding seasonal changes in the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released from permafrost soils in Alaska. This project is very exciting because they are using soil flux chambers that are capable of monitoring CO2 during the cold winter months. Information resulting from this study will be used to improve the understanding of local earth systems processes that affect carbon flux in various parts of Alaska.

Where Are They?

An aerial view of Barrow, Alaska. Photo by John Wood.
An aerial view of Barrow, Alaska. Photo by John Wood.
The team will reach the field sites at Eight Mile Lake, along the Dalton Highway, Toolik and Utqiaġvik (Barrow) via truck and up to 3 miles of hiking. Atqasuk is reached by small plane.

Toolik Field Station is operated by the Institute of Arctic Biology (IAB) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and has hosted hundreds of researchers and students every year since 1975. We will also conduct research at the Eight Mile Lake watershed on the North Slope of the Alaska Range near Healy, Alaska. The Eight Mile Lake site has been affiliated with the Bonanza Creek LTER and IAB at UAF since 2008.

Latest Journals

Coming back to school was both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Learning the names of 100+ students while having a very limited short term memory due to lack of sleep was one of the greatest challenges. I also had a hard time adjusting to it getting so dark so early - I love that…
A unique feature of the PolarTREC program this year is the inclusion of both formal and informal educators. During orientation I connected with Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) exhibit developer Allyson Woodward. Both of us were assigned PolarTREC expeditions focused on permafrost in…
My last official day on expedition was spent doing the thing that got me interested in permafrost in the first place – we got to visit the Army Corp of Engineers Permafrost Tunnel. Tours of the tunnel have only been opened up to the general public once in its 50+ year history. Tunnel Entrance.…
I am very excited to announce – today, we actually took the day off. Yes, that's one day off in one month. No measurements, no lab, no computers, no driving. A real day off. A day off, of course, doesn't mean getting any sleep. Christina and I woke up around 5:40am to drive into Denali…
Dates
-
Location
Various Locations in Alaska
Project Funded Title
Winter respiration in the Arctic: Constraining current and future estimates of CO2 emissions during the non-growing season
Kim Young - Educator
Educator
Weston High School

Kimberly Young is a World History Teacher at Weston High School in Weston, Massachusetts. Over her fourteen-year teaching career she has focused on promoting the development of student global competence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning. She served for ten years as Global Education Coordinator, facilitating one-to-one exchange programs between WHS, France, Brazil, and China. Kim has received the National Council for Social Studies James M. Becker Award for Global Understanding and was a member of the inaugural graduating class of the Global Competence Certificate Program. In her free time she enjoys spinning, kiteboarding, snowboarding, and field hockey.

Susan Natali - Researcher
Researcher
University of Florida

Sue Natali is an assistant scientist at Wood Hole Research Center (WHRC). Her research focuses on the interactions and feedbacks between plant and soil communities and their environment and seeks to better understand the impacts of environmental change on ecological processes and biogeochemical cycles. Dr. Natali conducts her research in boreal and tundra ecosystems in Alaska and Siberia. Learn more about Dr. Natali and her work at the WHRC webpage.

Jennifer Watts - Researcher
Researcher
Woodwell Climate Research Center

Dr. Jennifer Watts grew up in northern landscapes and feels a personal connection to the places and ecosystems she studies. She is interested in patterns and mechanisms of change in terrestrial environments, particularly the tundra, wetlands and forests in the Arctic-boreal regions of Alaska and Canada. She is also very fond of the semi-arid grasslands in the Rocky Mountain West. Her work draws on remote sensing, carbon flux measurements, hydrology and ecosystem modeling to understand how climate change and human disturbance are affecting vegetation and soils and ultimately, the carbon cycle.

Kyle Ardnt - Researcher
Researcher
San Diego State University

Winter Respiration in the Arctic Resources

Educator Kim Young and Researcher Christina Minions from the Winter Respiration in the Arctic Team discuss permafrost in Alaska and what climate factors are affecting it. This presentation was broadcast live from Weston, Massachusetts on 8 April 2019.

Event
Arctic
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Overview

This resource is a 2-minute immersive video that takes students inside the Permafrost Research Tunnel outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. It includes footage of both the new and old sections of the tunnel.

Objectives

Through watching this video, students will get to see what permafrost looks like from the inside, identifying typical features geological features (ex. ice wedges). Through the

Lesson
Arctic
Less than 1 period
All Aged
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Overview

This lesson plan transports students to two field sites outside of Fairbanks, Alaska to investigate the interconnected relationships between climate change and permafrost. Students will use authentic field data from site photographs, soil temperature, and thaw depth measurements to draw inferences. An ESRI StoryMap, faux field journal, and 360 site images are used to engage students in the inquiry

Lesson
Arctic
About 1 period
High school and Up
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The PolarTREC Experience

PolarTREC is a teacher professional development program funded through the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) and National Science Foundation (NSF). PolarTREC pairs middle and high school teachers with scientific research teams to allow them to “study-abroad” as a scientific team member authentically integrated into polar (Arctic or Antarctic) field science. The PolarTREC experience facilitates

Report
Arctic
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