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.)
How a PolarTREC Teacher Makes a HUGE impact with Polar Day!
PolarTREC alumni teacher John Wood organized a Polar Day at his school and it was a great success. This event is part of his ongoing commitment to sharing polar science with his students, many years after his expedition! Here is John's synopsis of the events, with some photos and
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
Teacher Betsy Wilkening and researchers publish an article in the Journal of Geophysical Research stemming from their work on the PolarTREC OASIS project.
The local on-line newsletter interviewed Mr. Wood over the phone and talks about the upcoming expedition to the interior tundra of Alaska and how it will involve the students at Talbert Middle School in Fountain Valley.
PolarConnect event with John Wood and Dr. Sue Natali participating in the Carbon Balance in Warming and Drying Tundra expedition in Healy Alaska. There were some technical difficulties in the archive, so you can access Part 1 of the archive here and Part 2 of the archive is here.
This PolarConnect event was conducted with PolarTREC teacher Claude Larson, and members of the research team that she worked with on the Prehistoric Human Response to Climate Change 2010 project in Kamchatka, Russia.
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)
Students will discover how a simple action such as turning on a television will lead to toxins in our food supply. Many of these toxins concentrate in the Arctic because of long-range transport of pollutants in the atmosphere. Scientists in the OASIS project (http://www.polartrec.com/ocean-atmosphere-sea-ice-and-snowpack-interactions) study these pollutants in the Arctic. Students will learn about actions that they can take to