Group items tagged

"Reading and thinking about International Polar Years: five recent books by Dave Carlson Abstract: Within the polar science community the Polar (and Geophysical) Years represent signal events. We often read, largely within geoscience literature, that those events represented positive and dramatic steps forward in international science. From five recent books - two historical compilations and three personal narratives - augmented by interviews with a few key participants, a more cautious picture emerges, of remarkable successes but also of occasional or even persistent missteps and deficiencies. An improved understanding of the IPY concept and experience can provide useful guidance for future polar and global science."

"The Polar Science Center (PSC) is a unit of the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington. Polar Science Center researchers observe and model the physical processes that control the nature and distribution of sea ice and polar ice sheets, the structure and movement of high-latitude oceans, and the interactions between air, sea, ice and biota. The Center has made major contributions to the understanding of how the arctic system has undergone important changes during the past four decades."

Polar Science

from Dave Carlson via Polar Educators International: "I wrote this summary of recent polar research (http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi%3A10.1007%2Fs12665-012-2185-y) with Polar Educators in mind: urgent topics, clear language (I hope) and, negotiated with Springer, open access. And they let me include some pictures! Check the summary paragraph first if you have limited time."

"OTTAWA, April 27, 2012 /CNW/ - QUOTE FROM Peter Harrison, Chair of the IPY 2012 Montreal Conference: "I am pleased to be a part of today's announcement of the establishment of a formal international professional network of polar educators teaching in, about and for the polar regions. I regard this as a very positive action emerging from the conference, another contribution to the legacy of IPY and the future of polar research."

A remarkable site that has wonderful video podcasts from 'real' polar scientists talking in 'real' language to 'real' people. If the live tour comes near you, it is worth seeing - at the very least read the bios of the people involved. It's another insight to polar studies.

This site, no longer active, documents polar expeditions via two specific projects. 'The Case of the Elusive Element' studies phytoplankton populations. 'POP Goes Antarctica' studies pollutants in the food chain. Both would be good to use with middle school students. 'What is Polar Science?' is an excellent primer for all, and there are many good links to activities and other sites (that still appear to be active). An oldie but goodie.

Older sites, still useful

"Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI). The Institute is a well-known and long-established centre for research into both polar regions. It is part of the University of Cambridge and is a sub-department of the Department of Geography"

Polar Science

This is a place for educators of polar science to share and discuss ideas, resources, strategies, concerns & successes that will engage students and advance scientific literacy about the polar regions of our planet. In the comment section is the list to which I have assigned the site.

A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute site for their IPY polar region expeditions. Good background, moderately interactive features (great graphic of the arctic ocean currents) and a variety of other resources.

polar science

A 2008 Webby Award Honoree for best Science Ice Stories presents and archives 'dispatches from polar scientists.' Nice link to the South Pole Telescope and other materials, too.

polar science

Windows to the Universe. Excellent resources, many of which were featured in the Winter 2008 issue of The Earth Scientist (National Earth Science Teachers Association). This issue was dedicated to polar studies and IPY. Select 'Polar Regions' in the left sidebar menu.

polar science curriculum resources

The US Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory's site. Under the Educational Outreach menu item, you will find student opportunities (high school and above). The Kid's Corner is not directly polar related, but there are some good activities (especially under the Navigation Lessons) to tie in with a polar topic unit.

snow and ice

"IPY STEM Polar Connections is a curriculum development and professional development program that explores global climate change and its impact on the Arctic and Antarctic. It includes residential summer institutes for in-service teachers who are involved in the professional development of their colleagues. During each summer institute, teachers are introduced to hands-on STEM Polar Connections materials that model a variety of proven techniques for effective teaching, including inquiry-based teaching and cooperative learning."

https://www.facebook.com/notes/landsat/most-accurate-map-of-antarcticas-landmass-made-from-landsat-data/213252075413939 "Antarctica may not be the world's largest landmass -- it's the fifth-largest continent -- but resting on top of that land is the world's largest ice sheet. That ice holds more than 60 percent of Earth's fresh water and carries the potential to significantly raise sea level. The continent is losing ice to the sea, and scientists want to know how much."

This is a Polar Science Special Collection from PBS' Teachers Domain. If you haven't been there lately, be sure to check out the upgrades to this PBS site. It is free to join, has excellent resources (tied to specific state standards in most cases), and most materials are fair use and/or copyright free.

"A place for educators of polar science to share and discuss ideas, resources, strategies, concerns & successes that will engage students and advance scientific literacy about the polar regions of our planet. While primarily targeted at K-12 teachers, we invite educators from any grade level, any country, and any discipline to join us." This group is open and all content is public

"NASA scientist Thorsten Markus shares his expertise on polar ice in a lecture at the Library of Congress. In his lecture, Markus summarizes recent observations and findings-together with pictures from Arctic and Antarctic research campaigns-and puts those results into the bigger climate-system picture. He focuses on recent changes in the Arctic and in Antarctica. Markus explains why the two hemispheres react differently to climate change, and concludes his lecture by discussing current and future efforts to address the uncertainties and contradictions of the ice conditions."

videos and related media

"These explorations were developed in honor of a scientific celebration of Earth's polar regions, The International Polar Year (IPY) of 2007-9. The activities are suitable for children ages 8-13 unless otherwise noted in the "activities" section. Discover links to additional games, activities, and information in the "further resources" section."

If you are looking for some great photos of the polar regions -- scientists working, great scenery, teachers in the field, maps, logos, etc...check out ARCUS' media site. Most of the photos are free to use as long as they are credited and used for non-commercial purposes

This is the homepage for the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory. Many of the sidebar choices, besides the Educational Outreach, are very for many students. This easily addresses the IPY Key area of New Frontiers, and Unique Vantage Points and can slip polar science into those classes that don't deal with the earth/geo/environmental areas.