Students will observe how soils and rocks of different densities behave in wind and in water. They will make predictions and careful observations as they learn about sediment transport and sediment rates in streams and rivers.
Students experiment with a “blubber glove” to experience how insulation affects heat transfer, and how the adaptation of blubber helps penguins as well as seals, whales and walruses survive in bitterly cold waters.
A young marine biologist from Portugal shows the science, the beauty and the importance of the polar regions to the planet from a research cruise en route to Antarctica. Film is primarily in Portuguese with some English.
Listen in to this radio interview on National Public Radio's program, "All Things Considered" with PolarTREC teacher Nell Herrmann. Nell describes her excitement about traveling to Antarctica and her role in a study of Antarctic seafloor organisms and their response to changes in water acidification and temperature. Nell outlines her plans for sharing the research team's findings with her students
"It is so much more meaningful to students to have real world applications of science. It helps them make connections and broadens their understanding of science"
This article highlights Nell's upcoming PolarTREC field expedition to Antarctica as well as the many educational excursions she has undertaken around the world that have influenced her teaching and her life.
Article about PolarTREC teacher Nell Herrmann's expedition to Antarctica written by her former student. The article was published in The Lion's Digest, her school's newspaper in State College, Pennsylvania.
"The seal will capture all sorts of data: the temperature, the salinity of the water, how deep the seals dive and the pressure of the water and return that information via satellite and through this tag."
Read about Alex Eilers expedition to Antarctica to tag Weddell seals. It's hoped that information collected through tagging of seals will lead to a
PolarTREC teacher Michael League and researchers at the University of Delaware are examining tiny worms that inhabit the frigid sea off Antarctica to learn not only how these organisms adapt to the severe cold, but how they will survive as ocean temperatures increase. This article from the University of Delaware website outlines the research being undertaken to determine whether the
Studying physics and applied mathematics as a girl is not common. What made you select this course of study?
I like to find out how things work. I believe physics is the basic science to all scientific work. It helps to really understand things in biology and other areas. When an employer sees a degree in physics they know you
The Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first person to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911, following a race with the English explorer Robert Scott. Scott made it to the South Pole shortly after Amundsen but he and his four companions all died on the return journey.