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The Fourth International Year 2007-2008 featured an international coordinated research effort focused on the Polar Regions. As part of this program, the National Science Foundation funded related teacher professional development programs. STEM Ed, in cooperation with the UMass Geosciences Department, offered summer institutes for teachers in 2008-2010. This site includes the educational materials developed at UMass as well as the grant proposal and evaluation.
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Publication Melting Ice and Sea Level Changes(2010-01-01) Sternheim, MortonA simple experiment to demonstrate the effects of melting sea.Publication A (Selective) History of the International Polar Year(2010-01-01) Bradley, RayPublication Seasonal Changes in Sea Ice(2010-01-01) Snyder, RobPublication Global Warming and Arctic Climate(2010-01-01) Bradley, RayPublication Thermohaline Circulation(2010-01-01) Snyder, RobSurface currents, such as the Gulf Stream, are pushed by the wind. Deep ocean currents, called the “Thermohaline Circulation”, are the result of changes in the density of water. In this activity you can investigate how differences in the temperature and salinity of water can produce deep ocean currentsPublication Why the Arctic? An Overview(2010-01-01) Brigham-Grette, JuliePublication The Arctic Solar Challenge(2009-01-01) Snyder, RobDesign, build, and evaluate the performance of a portable, temporary, passive solar structure that can be used as a shelter for researchers who will be in Kotzebue, Alaska around the time of a summer solstice.Publication The Problem of Venice - Sea Level Rise(2009-01-01) Bradley, RayThe problem of Venice ... We are all Venetians now.Publication Proposal Narrative and References(2007-01-01) Sternheim, Morton; Brigham-Grette, JuliePublication Stable Isotopes and Climate Change(2009-01-01) Bradley, Ray; Snyder, RobThe following description of the role of the study of stable isotopes in water and carbon dioxide molecules when constructing a record of Earth’s pattern of climate change is an excerpt from: Climate Change and Society by Raymond S. Bradley & Norman E. Law (2001) Nelson Thornes, Cheltenham, UK (ISBN: 0 7487 5823 2)Publication Teacher’s Guide: Penguins of Antarctic Region(2010-01-01) Silver, MarieThese activities help to connect science learning with real world issues through a study of the Antarctic region. By studying the penguins of the South Pole region you can tap students’ interest in a charismatic macrospecies through demonstrating their adaptation to ongoing climate changes and human activity. A number of current research projects at Antarctic research stations can be accessed online and the data used to demonstrate key concepts of feeding behavior, migration, breeding and population dynamics. The attached activity is in three parts and includes one hands-on demonstration, several mapping exercises and some data interpretation. These activities also provide a cross-disciplinary focus as they connect well with mapping, social studies, environmental studies and math disciplines.Publication The Antarctic: Going to Extremes(2009-01-01) Sternheim, MortonPublication Recommended Books(2010-01-01) Hargraves, Holly; Bradley, RayPublication Polar Literature(2010-01-01) Hargraves, HollyPublication Sea Ice Food Webs—Hands on Sampler Teacher Guide(2010-01-01) Caissie, BethThis activity is a variation on a food web game that I’ve seen played many times before, but it is adapted to reflect a sea ice food web and show the many organisms that are intimately connected to polar bears.Publication Play Doh Coring Sampler Teacher Guide(2010-01-01) Caissie, BethSediment cores are one of the most valuable types of samples for researchers who would like to learn about past climate or ecological changes. Cores can be retrieved from lakes, marshes, swamps, fields, and the ocean. The layers often reveal striking changes in color (see photos) reflecting changing sediment composition (i.e. more clay deposition or more microfossil s). This easy activity illustrates the basic geologic principle that horizontal layers of sediment become older the deeper you go below the Earth’s surface (Law of Superposition). Each layer contains sediment, fossils and organic matter etc. that can inform us about past changes in the associated water mass, and these changes are commonly associated with changes in the environment. This is also a way to demonstrate how geologists extract cores from lake bottoms or other areas.Publication Glacier Goo Activity(2010-01-01) Caissie, BethWe provided the students with background information about what a glacier is, where they are, how they move. Then split the students into four groups each tasked with a question to answer through experimentation Group s 1 and 2: How does temperature change the way a glacier flows? (we provided frozen, and room temperature goo, and a microwave for heating the goo) Groups 3 and 4: How does friction or obstacles change the way a glacier flows? (we provided different pvc tubes—tubes with nothing done to them, tubes with paintable sand applied to them, and tubes with rocks glued to them. We also provided tin foil, oil, and water)Publication Melting Ice and Sea Level Change(2010-01-01) Sternheim, MortonGlobal warming can melt snow or ice on Greenland, Antarctica, and other land areas. It can also melt floating ice in the Arctic Ocean. How do the two cases compare in changing sea levels?Publication Permafrost, Ice Sheets, and Sea Level(2010-01-01) Caissie, Beth; Brigham-Grette, JulieSea level rise and inhabited coastlines. Ice shelves and sea ice do not contribute to sea level but they can buttress the land ice sheets from rapid retreat. Causes of Sea Level Rise: •Melting of glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets •Thermal expansion of sea water ••Small scale changes due to anthropogenic land water storage (damming rivers, over-pumping of water and fuels, wetland and forest destruction) •Relative changes in sea level due to tectonic movements (land subsidence or rebound)Publication Final Evaluation Report(2011-01-01)