Cruise Report for the R/V Sikuliaq August 25-September 18, 2017, prepared by Dr. Carin Ashjian, Chief Scientist, and the SKQ201713S Science Team for the time PolarTREC teacher Lisa Seff was aboard and working on Upwelling and Ecology in the Beaufort Sea.
Article written for the East Hampton Star Newspaper on September 7, 2017, featuring teacher Lisa Seff aboard the R/V Sikuliaq in the Beaufort Sea studying Upwelling and Ecology in the Bering Sea.
Article run in the East Hampton Star Newspaper on February 16, 2017, about teacher Lisa Seff's participation in the expedition "Upwelling and Ecology in the Bering Sea" aboard the R/V Sikuliaq in the Beaufort Sea.
Students will collect soil samples and analyze them with some of the same procedures used by researchers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Soil microfauna (e.g. nematodes) will be extracted from the samples using a Baermann funnel. Students will compare their own data to published data from researchers working in Antarctica.
PolarTREC has been an amazing experience, wow! The heart of the PolarTREC program is the field expedition, which allows the teacher to be embedded in a field research team. STEM educators are passionate about what they teach but often lack access to meaningful opportunities to participate in basic research. Programs like PolarTREC provide that missing
Models are great to use to make a concept easier to understand, to visualize a process or outcome, and also to allow a scientist to test selected variables. IMOLD is a great model of leaf decomposition, because it allows the students to interact with two variables affecting decomposition rates, and test those variables in many more ways than they could
This lesson describes how decomposition happens, and the role of microorganisms in this process. The animation, which runs for 3:23 minutes total time, covers information that students may or may not be familiar with. Here is one suggestion for working your students through the animation. By actively taking notes during the animations, students can engage in a dialogue with the
The purpose of this lesson is to highlight the importance of the structure of a leaf at its implications for how it decomposes. The animation, which runs for 2:03 minutes total time, covers information that students may or may not be familiar with. Here is one suggestion for working your students through the animation. By actively taking notes during the
The purpose of this lesson is to highlight the importance of the Carbon Cycle in the natural cycles of photosynthesis and respiration. It also models how human activity can alter the carbon cycle. The animation, which runs for 2:56 minutes total time, covers a large amount of information that students may or may not be familiar with. Here is one