Students will collect soil samples and analyze them with some of the same procedures used by researchers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Soil microfauna (e.g. nematodes) will be extracted from the samples using a Baermann funnel. Students will compare their own data to published data from researchers working in Antarctica.
PolarTREC has been an amazing experience, wow! The heart of the PolarTREC program is the field expedition, which allows the teacher to be embedded in a field research team. STEM educators are passionate about what they teach but often lack access to meaningful opportunities to participate in basic research. Programs like PolarTREC provide that missing
Teacher Josh Heward discusses research with the "Tough Tardigrades Team" in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica where they search for tardigrades and other microorganisms that live in the soil.
Journal article about Lesley Urasky's PolarTREC expedition, Glacial History in Antarctica, published in "In the Trenches", the news magazine of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.
An article about Lesley Urasky's PolarTREC expedition, Glacial History in Antarctica during the 2010-2011 research season that appeared in the University of Wyoming's Alumnews.
The long-term objective of PolarTREC teacher Lesley Urasky's expedition research in Antarctica (Glacial History in Antarctica) is to determine the rate at which glaciers have receded since the Last Glacial Maximum. This lesson is designed to give students an understanding of the Last Glacial Maximum, the climatic conditions that lead to glacial periods, and how the rate of glacial
During Lesley Urasky’s expedition, “Glacial History in Antarctica”, the team collected rock samples which were taken back to the University of Washington to be dated using cosmogenic (exposure) dating. This method of radiometric dating measures the ratio of isotopes of Beryllium (9Be:10Be) produced by the interaction of cosmic rays with minerals in rocks. This lesson will introduce the student to
Video created by John Stone from a series of time lapse photos taken over a 26 hour time span of a tidally influenced lake at the base of Mt. Hope in Antarctica.