This American Public Media Educate podcast features PolarTREC alumni, Melissa Lau. She talks about how her experiences in PolarTREC has influenced how she approaches teaching climate change in the classroom. Here's the link to the Education podcast:
Melissa Lau spent a month in the tundra ecosystem gathering data using a device called a Greenseeker. This device measures exactly how green a plant is by calculating its NDVI or Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. In this lesson, students will explore light waves, how they interact with plants, and find out how green is green.
PolarTREC, funded by ARCUS (Arctic Research Consortium of the United States) and the NSF (National Science Foundation), endeavors to connect educators and researchers in real field work experiences. Educators then take that experience back to their learners and community and share their experience in the form of lessons, lectures, and enhanced experiences in the classroom. As
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
Just as the increase in atmospheric CO2 is causing the global air temperture to rise, the container with the added CO2 will trap more heat inside and will show a higher internal temperature.
Overview
This activity/demonstration can be used directly following lessons on greenhouse gasses and their effects on warming the atmosphere by allowing shortwave UV energy
In this one hour presentation, PolarTREC teacher John Wood explains the scientific work in the Carbon Balance in Warming and Drying Tundra expedition from Healy, Alaska.
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.