Bear carving at the Ice Park
This week I'm in Fairbanks for my PolarTREC orientation, which has been a great experience so far. I'm meeting other teachers from around the country who are going to the ends of the earth to do cutting-edge science. PolarTREC alumni are here too, to help us get ready for our expeditions.
Last night I got to see some of the city with some amazing teachers. We went out for sushi, then to the Ice Park in 2F temperature to see the World Ice Art Championship
Obed Fulcar, Jamie Eisler, Bruce Taterka & Dan Frost
Obed Fulcar teaches in New York City and later this year he'll be going to the South Pole to work on the Ice Cube Project, a giant neutrino detector using a cubic kilometer if ice.
Jamie Eisler is from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and, like me, teaches IB Environmental Systems & Societies. Jamie's going to Iceland this summer to study the formation of drumlins, which are elongated hills formed by glaciers.
Ken Williams, who teaches in Damriscotta, Maine, will be coming back to Alaska soon to help drill an ice core into the Kahiltna Glacier on Denali at 14,000 feet, to gather evidence from the ice about past climate.
Dan Frost teaches in Maine and was a PolarTREC teacher last year, working in Svalbard, Norway to study how lake sediments reflect climate change in the past.
The range of PolarTREC projects is truly global and spans an amazing variety of science.
Ice Park Sign
Carving at the Ice Park