Polar ICE
A program designed to connect scientists, educators, and students using data and research from the Artcic and Antarctic regions.
What can penguins teach us about the ocean? You can also download this activity as a Word Doc: Data Swarm Activity #5. In our previous dispatches, we shared the data and technologies allowing us to understand how the ocean conditions are changing. The data included physical measurements like water currents, water temperature, and water salinity […]
Seeing with Sound in the Palmer Deep You can also download this activity as a Word Doc: Data Swarm Activity #4. In the last dispatch, underwater glider data revealed the temperature, salinity and chlorophyll levels below the surface of the water in the penguin foraging area. Krill and other small zooplankton feed on the chlorophyll. […]
Diving into the Palmer Deep You can also download this activity as a Word Doc: Data Swarm Activity #3. In the last dispatch, CODAR data revealed ocean surface currents within the foraging area of the penguins of Palmer studied in the SWARM project. This week we are going to dive below the surface to find […]
Land ho! Pictured above is the first bit of South America we saw from the ship. After a remarkably smooth crossing of the Drake Passage, we made it back to Punta Arenas, Chile. It’s not always so smooth, though! This Quicktime video file (Crossing the Drake Passage, 2017) shows you what my crossing looked like […]
Where will the current take us? You can also download this activity as a Word Doc: Data Swarm Activity #2. In out last dispatch, we shared an overview of our SWARM research project. This week we are going to focus on an important measurement for our research, ocean currents and their speed and direction, because […]
Hello! I hope you all had a fun time trying to identify these sea birds. I’m sure you realized these are penguins – were you able to identify the species? This is an adult Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) standing with its two chicks. They are probably a little over a month old! […]
Attention Polar Educators – Please consider applying for the Arctic Plants Phenology (APPLES) project. See attached flyer. Deadline is February 24, 2020. 2020 APPLES Workshop Flyer
Greetings from Antarctica! Sadly, we are heading back to Chile later this week. Our last stop is at one of the three Antarctic bases operated by the United States called Palmer Station, on the Western Antarctic Peninsula. It is a very cool place filled with wonderful people. The station held a big dinner for us […]
Hello! I hope you all had a great week. We had a chance to see some beautiful icebergs. Of all the scenery down here, they are definitely my favorite. Waves carve away the ice to create unbelievable structures. So, it seems like many of you were able to identify this week’s mystery creatures: […]
Greetings from Antarctica! We pulled a special type of net behind our research vessel today called a MOCNESS. It stands for Multiple Opening and Closing Net Environmental Sampling System. It is a very important piece of oceanographic research gear and there are only about 50 of them in the world. We normally send a single […]