My PolarTREC expedition to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica was an experience of a lifetime. Notice I did not use the word “trip” of a lifetime. This was far more than a trip. It was an experience that is a life-changer. It has been a life-changer for myself, my students, my family, other educators, and other folks
PolarConnect Event with Kevin Dickerson and Dr. Byron Adams discussing the science and field work taking place for the Dry Valleys Ecosystem Study in Antarctica. This event took place on 6 February 2019.
In this article, PolarTREC teacher Elizabeth Eubanks recounts her experience bringing her students - three eighth-graders and two seventh-graders to a week-long research conference in Alaska. "Having my students present at an international professional science conference is above and beyond any experience that I can offer them as a science teacher".
PolarTREC teacher Elizabeth Eubanks traveled to the Alaska Marine Science Symposium with her students. They presented a poster about their experience as her students.
PolarTREC teacher Elizabeth Eubanks hosted a webinar from Costa Rica with Arctic Tundra Dynamics team from Barrow, AK. They are completing similiar research at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica.
Teacher Elizabeth Eubanks recently returned from a research trip to Costa Rica along with Steve Oberbauer, a professor of biological sciences at Florida International University. In 2008, they had traveled to Barrow, Alaska to study the role of global warming on Arctic ecosystems as part of a PolarTREC exition. In Dr. Oberbauer's words, "Elizabeth was so good in Alaska, I
Teacher Betsy Wilkening and researchers publish an article in the Journal of Geophysical Research stemming from their work on the PolarTREC OASIS project.
Students will use marshmallows to simulate toxins in the environment. Concentrations of these toxins will be modeled and calculated as they bioaccumulate up the food chain. Methylmercury and POPs are substances that bioaccumulate in the Arctic food chain. OASIS scientists studied these in Barrow, Alaska. (See Ocean Atmosphere Sea Ice and Snow (OASIS) Project at www.polartrec.com)