Researcher Elizabeth Webb discusses her experiences working in the field with a PolarTREC teacher. She worked with John Wood in 2011 and 2012, and Tom Lane in 2013, on the Carbon Balance in Warming and Drying Tundra expedition near Healy, Alaska. (She primarily discusses her time with John Wood since this interview was taken in 2013, before Tom Lane's expedition.)
Soil decomposers, such as some bacteria and fungi, obtain energy needed for life from dead and decomposing plant and animal remains, known as soil organic matter. Soil organic matter is important to local ecosystems because it affects soil structure, regulates soil moisture and temperature, and provides energy and nutrients to soil organisms. It is also important globally, because
PolarTREC alumni Alex Eilers created this mini-exhibit about Antarctica for the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The exhibit highlights a variety of topics as well as Ms. Eilers personal experiences in Antarctica. Topics explored include: dressing for the cold Antarctic climate, research on the Weddell seal, the history of human exploration in Antarctica, and extreme facts about the coldest
Students will conduct a demonstration that will help them gain a better understanding of the water cycle and runoff in a watershed. They will be able to replicate arctic and non-arctic watersheds by varying the size of the watershed. They will be able to visualize the difference in runoff by creating hydrographs of these different locations.
Students will investigate the breadth and depth of science taking place in the Polar Regions by reading and learning about one PolarTREC expedition and sharing it with the class.
Objectives
* To expose students to the wide variety of science happening in the Polar Regions
* To help students understand the process of science by examining one
PolarTREC teacher Jacquelyn Hams' expedition is featured in Foundations: the Newsletter of the Geo2YC division of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.
This one hour webinar gives educators the opportunity to learn from PolarTREC educator Alex Eilers. Her projects for education and outreach on the weddell seal project with Dr. Burns provides great examples of bringing polar science to students and communities.
Dr. Jennifer Burns presented a one hour webinar about her work studying weddell seals in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. This presentation is for educators and in conjunction with the PolarTREC professional development course in Life Sciences.
PolarTREC teacher Alex Eilers used this resource to prepare for her expedition to student Weddell Seals in Antarctica. The purpose of this new web portal is to make available to educators, students, parents, and the general public information, resources, multimedia, and classroom materials based on Antarctica Weddell seal ecology research by the Montana State University Weddell seal research project.