How glaciers in the polar regions respond to continued climate warming is of great concern. Changes in overall glacier velocities and calving dynamics have immediate impacts on sea level. Accurate predictions of how and when ice loss will occur are crucial to forecasting future environmental change.
This lesson results from experiences working in and around Kronebreen glacier in
This lesson was designed to teach pre-service teachers an inquiry-based approach for a science classroom. To give context to the activity, I used my experiences as part of “High Arctic Change 2014” for a lab activity. As such, the activity focuses on discovering how glaciers are formed and flow and how icebergs float in water. The materials can
This lesson is based on studies completed by undergraduate geoscience students working around the glaciers of Kongsfjord, Svalbard during the summer of 2014. It is intended as part of a larger unit on matter that covers atomic theory, atomic structure and the periodic table. Students connect authentic research to their classroom understanding of atoms while learning how this
This lesson is based on studies completed by undergraduate geoscience students working around the glaciers of Kongsfjord, Svalbard during the summer of 2014. It is intended as part of a larger Earth science unit that covers erosion, transport and deposition of sediment. Students connect authentic research to classroom investigations while learning how to interpret current data to understand
The report is written by teacher participants upon return from their field expedition portion of the PolarTREC program. It summarizes the benefit of the expedition to the teacher, a description of activities, and a summary of how teachers plan to link this experience in classrooms and communities. This is a public document that will be posted in teacher portfolios and
Even in Antarctica ice will melt. As the sun stays higher and higher in the sky as summer progresses, the warm sun causes the ice to melt. The questions that we are going to ask are: 1) Does clean ice (no sediment) or dirty ice (has sediment mixed in it) melt faster? and 2) Would the ice melt if
We know that we have lots of microorganisms growing where we live, but can microorganisms like bacteria also live in the harsh, cold, dry climate of Antarctica? Part of our research project in Antarctica is looking at the microorganisms that live in the Taylor Glacier. We are taking dirty ice (ice with lots of dirt/sediment in it) and
For this experiment, we are going to melt dirty ice (ice with lots of sediment/dirt in it) and clean ice (ice without sediment) from the Taylor Glacier. After we melt the ice, we are going to test the melt water for pH and conductivity, and then determine how much salt is actually in our ice samples. There are