Physical Science Collection

Kevin Tavares and his fourth graders at Old Hammondtown School in Massachusetts built a website to share what they were learning with the rest of the world. Mr. Tavares installed a location tracking device on the page that assigns a red dot to the country of each visitor. The students wanted to get website hits from all seven continents so

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.

This is a one hour PolarConnect event with PolarTREC teacher Amber Lancaster and her research team aboard the RV Nathaniel B Palmer. They are studying the collapse of the Larson B Ice Shelf in Antarctica and its impact on the ecosystem of the Weddell Sea. Note: Due to satellite phone connection there are a few moments of dropped audio, the

This 1 hour event is for educators interested in learning more on natural methane cycling, terrestrial methane studies in the polar regions, and Mr. Friedman's work with microbial electrochemical technologies. This event is part of the CISE online professional development course.

Overview

Students chose a research project, from one of seven suggested projects, to complete in class with a partner. Upon completion they will present their information to the class.

Objectives

Students will present a scientifically accurate project on a topic related to the PolarTREC Winter Sampling expedition.

Lesson Preparation

Introduce students to the PolarTREC website. Any expedition could be selected

This one hour presentation is part of the C-ISE Physical Science professional development course. Elizabeth Webb in Healy, Alaska explains the carbon balance in warming and drying tundra.

Frontier Scientists puts you in the front row to observe breaking scientific news from leading Arctic scientists in Archaeology, Geology, Anthropology, the Humanities, Biology, Marine Biology, Ecology, Chemistry and more. Many videos on Arctic science are available from their website.

This polar-themed unit plan provides a resource for teachers looking for ways to integrate a variety of challenging lessons and activities into their curriculum. The lessons touch on a variety of subject areas including language arts, math, and science. The unit is designed for a 3rd grade class but can be adapted for other grade levels. A helpful media list

The Polar Resource Book - Polar Science and Global Climate: An International Resource for Education & Outreach - was written to ensure that the efforts catalyzed by the International Polar Year (IPY) will continue to inspire educators, students, and emerging polar researchers with a shared commitment to outreach and education. This 250 page book edited by Bettina Kaiser and others

Icy IPY activities can be downloaded in word documents and tried in your classroom. From 'Blubber Gloves' to 'Experiments with Ice and Snow', there are a wealth of different activities to introduce students to the Polar Regions or complement their existing knowledge of the Poles. The International Polar Year is a large international effort that has involved over 200 projects

Chapter 2 of The Biology of the Polar Regions. An accessible supplementary text suitable for both senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in polar ecology.

The Circumpolar World introduces students to the landscape, peoples and issues of the circumpolar region. This module gives a brief introduction to the physical features and processes of the Arctic region and highlights the significant factors that influence those features and processes. Developed by Bruce Forbes and Steve Young.

This module gives a general overview of environmental issues that affect the Arctic, including climate change related themes. Compiled by Ake Bjorke, Lars Kullerud UNEP/GRID-Arendal, and Olav Hesjedal

The Circumpolar World introduces students to the landscape, peoples and issues of the circumpolar region.

What are the chances of abrupt releases of, say, 1 Gt of methane in the Arctic? What would be the impact of such a release? This scientific article offers detailed explanations of the stability of methane, impacts of hydrates, and data provided by NOAA and IPCC. Strong bibliography for this resource.

The Permafrost Network and scientists describe the changes in permafrost and the affects on carbon, methane, and other environmental factors

NBC Learn, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, explores the impact that climate change is having on our planet. In this video, IARC's Dr. Katey Walter Anthony and IARC affiliate Dr. Vladimir Romanovsky are interviewed about permafrost, methane, and their impacts on the environment. Viewers are given an explosive demonstration.

Methane in arctic permafrosts being studied by University of Alaska professor. This article describes methane's potential impact on global climate change.

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.

Melting permafrost in a warming world could mean lots of greenhouses gasses, especially methane, released into the atmosphere. But it also means an unusual community of soil bacteria coming out of hibernation, so to speak. A new study looks at what those permafrost microbes do, exactly, as their environment warms up.

Using samples from a field site at Alaska's Hess Creek, researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and the U.S. Geological Survey collaborated to study how permafrost-dwelling microbes generate greenhouse gases as their environments thaw.

NASA GISS Institute on Climate and Planets education tools on Global Methane Inventory. This resource gives an introduction to the methane cycle as well as lessons, projects, research, and reference materials.

In this video adapted from KUAC-TV and the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, learn how one-celled organisms in permafrost may be contributing to greenhouse gas levels and global warming. Investigate how soil microbes, once thought to be dormant in cold temperatures, may actually be actively decomposing organic matter throughout the Alaskan winter and contributing significant amounts of

NPR and National Geographic teamed up to create an animated video series that begins with the basics of Carbon as an element and with 5 episodes draws the links between carbon and our warming planet. This is a part of the Climate Connections Series

The Permafrost Observatory was established at Barrow under the auspices of the International Arctic Research Center (IARC). The observatory was established to compare present permafrost temperatures with those obtained during the 1950s and early 1960s by Max Brewer.