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Reflecting Reflecting on our week of orientation in Fairbanks, AK I've transformed from feeling overwhelmed to well prepared to embark on this journey. This is due to the incredible staff from PolarTREC and ARCUS. This team is responsible in sending 15 teachers from all over the country to remote

Habitat Description The Arctic Tundra is a very unique habitat with its own defining food web. I will be focusing on the Arctic tundra found in northern Alaska since that is where the Toolik Research Station is located. This biome has long cold dark winters and short cool summers with 24 hours of

Day two of PolarTREC orientation was dedicated to science overviews, program requirements, evaluations, outreach strategies, and technology lessons. Even though I am headed to Antarctica, I was most enthused and interested in hearing about the variety of scientific projects exploring many different

Did our sediment traps work? Its been over a year since my science team and I have left The Ice and returned to North America. However, that doesn’t mean that our science is finished! I thought I’d give you a follow up to our field season from last year. ## A Recap One of the major goals of our

My students are aware that I grew up in Alaska. So I must have just headed home, correct? It's a family vacation. Not quite. ##Alaska is Big. Really Big. ## From north to south, Alaska spans 1420 miles - that is a little bit more than the distance between Chicago and the Mexican border. So here, in

What are you doing while you are in Alaska? When I introduced the idea of PolarTREC, orientation in Alaska and my specific expedition to my students, they all expressed their support and interest in the opportunity. They also started asking questions. As a teacher, I love hearing students'

It all started with an exploding mountain On May 18, 1980 the most amazing thing happened in the Pacific Northwest where I lived - Mt. St. Helens erupted explosively sending a massive amount of material into the air for what seemed like days. The title of this journal entry are the last words

A Blanket of White As you may know, winter in Alaska means snow. Here in Fairbanks, the snow is not piled high, just inches really, but the streets are permanently icy, because the cold prevents any of the snow from melting. Not even the application of salt lowers the temperature enough to melt

Today I found out that the current temperature at the South Pole Station (where I'll be going) is about -40F with a windchill of about -70F. Yep, that's some bone-chilling, unbelievably freezing, what-did-I-get-myself-into cold. Fortunately, I will be issued Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear

Going North So, you may ask, what is the Arctic, where is the Arctic Circle, and how is it different from home? Just as the equator is an imaginary line, so is the Arctic Circle an imaginary line. It circles the Earth at about 66 degrees north latitude. It encircles an area where the sun shines