This PolarConnect event on Antarctica Day (December 1) 2022 was broadcast live from the Dry Valleys of Antarctica with teacher Lucy Coleman and researcher Rachel Morgan-Kiss.
In a “March Madness” game of survival of the fittest, will your microbe and its genes survive the test of changing conditions on Planet Earth and beyond? Students choose genes from a “toolbox” and pit their microbe against their classmates’, using critical thinking and argument writing to determine the microbe with the best chance of success. Based on PolarTREC
Analogs are used in science investigations to better understand systems we can’t access ourselves. In this lesson, students explore the Dry Valleys of Antarctica to better understand microbial communities on early Earth and what might have been possible on ancient Mars. Students will examine photographs, written descriptions, and artistic renderings of early Earth, the Dry Valley lakes, and
Scientists use bathymetry to understand the ocean floor. This lesson is a basic introduction to bathymetry using salad trays to help students understand how bathymetric maps work.
Objectives
1. Students will be able to identify the advantages to using a bathymetric map.
2. Students will be able to transform a bathymetric map into a three-dimensional model.
3. Using just
How can the ocean be colder than 0 degrees C, the temperature at which water freezes? As it turns out, the concentration of the particles (in this case, the ions from the salt) in ocean water lowers the temperature at which the saltwater will freeze. Students will learn how ocean water freezes at a lower temperature than freshwater by
One of the first things to understand about the Antarctic ecosystem is what kinds of animals actually live there. This lesson provides a basic introduction to important Antarctic wildlife and how they interact with each other.
Objectives
Students will be able to create a food web of the Antarctic ecosystem.
This San Francisco Examiner talks with the PolarTREC teacher Amber Lancaster in Antarctica and her marine biology students back in San Francisco and the impact of the experience on their lives.
This is a one hour webinar is part of the Polaris Project 2012, conducted by Max Holmes and John Schade. In this session Andy Bunn, professor at Western Washington University, presents a lecture on the history and science of climate change.
This is a one hour webinar specifically for the participants of the Polaris Project 2012, conducted by Max Holmes and John Schade. In this session, a variety of team members present their scientific work.