00_cover_Biennial Report 05-06.qxd - INSTAAR - University of ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Lost Seal: A Scientific Children’sBook from the Long-Term EcologicalResearch (LTER) ProgramPainting of the lost seal beinglifted by a helicopter by Emily ofGranby Elementary, Worthington,Ohio, 2005–2006. Emily’spainting was part of a classroomactivity based on The Lost Seal.Emily wrote, “I drew this picture... because I thought it was coolwhen they scooted it into thetarp without hurting it. And theysaid that the winds were 144miles per hour. WOW, it mustbe cold out there!”Achance encounter between scientists working in theDry Valleys of Antarctica and a young Weddell seal isrecounted in the scientific children’s book, The Lost Seal.Diane McKnight and an international team of scientistswere working in the Dry Valleys in 1990 when they cameacross a Weddell seal, miles from his natural habitat onMcMurdo Sound. McKnight described the encounter in ahandout for K–12 classroom presentations. With theInternational Polar Year (IPY) approaching, the handout wasrevised and illustrated to become the second book in aseries published by the Long-Term Ecological Research(LTER) Schoolyard Program and Moonlight Publishing, LLC,in collaboration with the NSF, CU Boulder, and Byrd PolarResearch Center at the Ohio State University.The Lost Seal is an engaging introduction to the environmentof the Dry Valleys and is consistent with sciencestandards for 2nd through 5th graders. The story is setwithin the context of historical exploration of the region,the harsh conditions for life, and ongoing research onhydrology, limnology, and microbial ecology.Illustrated by Dorothy Emerling, The Lost Seal also featuresillustrations and comments by dozens of elementaryschool students from countries performing research in theDry Valleys. The story, with footage of the seal and photosof the Dry Valleys on DVD, was sent to 28 elementaryschool classrooms across Australia, New Zealand, theUnited Kingdom, and the United States.The materials packet served as the basis of classroomactivities, and the children’s artwork and comments, 413 inall, were sent back to INSTAAR. All the children’s artworkcan be found on The Lost Seal web site (http://www.mcmlter.org/lostseal), along with the materials packet.Once The Lost Seal was completed, sets of books were sentto each participating classroom.The Lost Seal links several outreach efforts. Artworkfrom children in four countries emphasizes the internationalnature of interest in the Antarctic in a way particularly suitedto the IPY. Creating the artwork became an activity indozens of classrooms across these countries, and sets ofbooks returned to the classrooms enable future activities.The web site, linked to educational clearinghouses, helpsreach a broad audience of K–12 teachers and students.Teachers can link their own classroom activity web sites toThe Lost Seal site. The book is for sale through distributorsto libraries, bookstores, and Internet-based vendors. Ateacher’s guide, which is under development, will be distributedsimilarly and sent to participating classrooms.The success of The Lost Seal has helped launch theLTER Schoolyard Series; two more children’s books are indevelopment from different LTER sites.Painting of a seal that has justhad a meal by Brandon ofLeongatha Primary School,Victoria, Australia, 2005–2006.Painting of the seal stuck in themountains by Helen of CombeDown Primary, Bath, England,2005–2006.Cover of The Lost Seal children’s book,with words by Diane McKnight(INSTAAR) and illustrations byDorothy Emerling, published in 2006.An encounter between scientists and ayoung Weddell seal in the Dry Valleysof Antarctica has inspired the bookand its publication, which coincideswith the International Polar Year (IPY).The book links multiple outreachactivities of the McMurdo Dry ValleysLTER project.36 | SOCIETAL MISSION
Outreach SpotlightsUNDERGRADUATE MENTORING:SUNLIGHT’S EFFECT ON AQUATICORGANIC MATTER. UndergraduateCuong Huynh (CU Boulder) is being mentoredby Natalie Mladenov and DianeMcKnight on a project to uncover new waysin which sunlight affects aquatic organic matter. Cuong’sefforts are funded by CU Boulder’s Undergraduate ResearchOpportunities Program (UROP) and Bioscience UndergraduateResearch Skills and Training Program (BURST).The main goal is to equip Huynh with an understanding ofthe research methods and skills in analytical and laboratorytechniques, while at the same time answering some interestingresearch questions.Degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) byultraviolet light—also known as “photobleaching”—cancause complex compounds in vegetation to be brokendown to simpler compounds which are more readily consumedby bacteria. Huynh has been running experimentsusing a high-powered solar simulator to reproduce the processof photobleaching with plant leachates and DOM samples.Huynh is also using a new statistical modeling tool inorder to quantify changes in the optical properties of DOMas a result of photobleaching.This research experience is a stepping stone to Huynh’smain interest: the chemical structure of plants and theirmedicinal properties. He plans to present the results of hisresearch at an international meeting in 2007—the InternationalAssociation of Theoretical and Applied Limnology(SIL2007).INSTAAR COLLABORATES ON LOCALWATERSHED CURRICULUM: “MYH 2 O.” Colleen Flanagan, under the direction ofDiane McKnight, led the development of ateacher curriculum guide and resource kit promotingawareness of the Boulder and St. Vrainwatersheds. The guide, entitled “My H 2 O,”blends Colorado state educational standards in science, languagearts, geography, and math into activities, educationalgames, story plots, and community action tasks. Theguide’s hands-on, minds-on projects are enhanced by aresource kit that contains supplies necessary to implementeach activity. Copies were distributed to area public andprivate schools in spring 2006, primarily for use in 4th- and5th-grade classrooms. The project was a joint effort byINSTAAR and the Niwot Ridge Long-Term EcologicalResearch Program (NWTLTER), with a number of collaboratorsin several local school districts and governmentalagencies.The curriculum supplements the children’s book MyWater Comes from the Mountains by Tiffany Fourment,funded by NWTLTER and INSTAAR and distributed toBoulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts in 2004.Funding for the curriculum guide was provided by theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the CU BoulderOutreach Committee, the City of Boulder, and theWatershed Approach to Stream Health (WASH, a partnershipof communities in Boulder County formed to protectwater quality). Other support came through SchoolyardNWTLTER, connecting the Colorado Front Range communitieswith the alpine systems of the mountains, andadministered by INSTAAR.GRAD STUDENT PENS EDUCATIONALJOURNAL ABOUT ANTARCTICSCIENCE. Karen Cozzetto was the maincontributor to an educational web site entitled“77 Degrees South,” which showcases the life,times, and research of several groups of scientistsworking in the largest ice-free region of Antarctica:the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Cozzetto’s focus was on theAntarctic “Stream Team,” which studies the hydrology andecology of glacial meltwater streams and is managed byDiane McKnight. The website is geared toward middle andhigh school students and presents science and happeningson the southernmost continent in the form of fun journalentries with lots of photos. Journal topics range from glacierdynamics to diving in ice-covered lakes for low-light algaephotosynthesis research, from eclipses to the ins and outsof helicopter travel, and from the intricacies of environmentallymanaging our human waste to the top signs you’vebeen in the field for three months. Most of the entries fromthe 2005–2006 field season were by Cozzetto and postedwith the help of volunteer web site designer EmmaHernandez (Cozzetto was also the main contributor in2003–2004 and 2002–2003). The site has been viewed bypeople on all seven continents, and several journal entrieshave been selected for inclusion in National ScienceFoundation’s Digital Library for Earth System Education(DLESE). The website is supported and hosted by the NSF’sMcMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)program.Undergraduate Cuong Huynh (CUBoulder) running experiments using ahigh-powered solar simulator to reproducethe process of photobleachingwith plant leachates and dissolvedorganic matter samples, Boulder,Colorado, Fall 2006. Huynh is beingmentored by Natalie Mladenov andDiane McKnight (both INSTAAR) on aproject to uncover new ways in whichsunlight affects aquatic organic matter.Photo: Natalie Mladenov (INSTAAR).SOCIETAL MISSION | 37
Page 1 and 2: INSTAARInstitute of Arctic and Alpi
Page 3 and 4: BiennialReport2005-2006Institute of
Page 5 and 6: INSTAAR: An Earth andEnvironmental
Page 7 and 8: CU-Denver campus where she helped t
Page 9 and 10: Where in the world is INSTAAR? Acti
Page 11 and 12: The instrument was deployed on NOAA
Page 13 and 14: altered by humans over the past 200
Page 15 and 16: ties. However, manmade reservoirs a
Page 17 and 18: Arctic WorkshopThe annual Arctic Wo
Page 19 and 20: Wendy Roth (INSTAAR) explains the p
Page 21 and 22: camera equipment. These laboratorie
Page 23 and 24: Research Grants: Fiscal Years2004-2
Page 25 and 26: Ogilvie, Astrid: NSF. HSD: Human an
Page 27 and 28: Theses Completed2005Breiter, Nehale
Page 29 and 30: Gifford MillerGEOL 1060, Global Cha
Page 31 and 32: Lana Cohen, MS, Atmospheric and Oce
Page 33 and 34: Trevor Popp, PhD, Geological Scienc
Page 35 and 36: Societal Outreach andInformal Educa
Page 37: A group of students from Southern H
Page 41 and 42: Spotlights: Honors, Awards,and Reco
Page 43 and 44: TIM SEASTEDT WINS THE 2005PACESETTE
Page 45 and 46: Structure of hierarchically organiz
Page 47 and 48: William F. ManleyFellow of INSTAAR.
Page 49 and 50: Alan R. TownsendFellow and Associat
Page 51 and 52: GeophysicsEdmund AndrewsChief River
Page 53 and 54: INSTAAR Visiting Scientists,2005-20
Page 55 and 56: Chris JarosSupervisor: Diane McKnig
Page 57 and 58: INSTAAR Noon SeminarsSpring 2005Tad
Page 59 and 60: Graduate Student TalksSpring 2005Ry
Page 61 and 62: Journal and BooksArctic, Antarctic,
Page 63 and 64: Publications2005Adams, P. N., Storl
Page 65 and 66: “El Nino suppresses Antarctic war
Page 67 and 68: European settlement of Lake Eyre, S
Page 69 and 70: tion of Baffin Island, Arctic Canad
Page 71 and 72: and soil quality for sustainable gr
Page 73 and 74: Andrews, J. T., Eberl, D. D., and K
Page 75 and 76: Cleveland C. C., Reed S. C., and To
Page 77 and 78: and Pierre Y. Julien. Journal of Hy
Page 79 and 80: Tributaries to the ColoradoRiver th
Page 81 and 82: Rocchi, S., LeMasurier, W. E., and

00_cover_Biennial Report 05-06.qxd - INSTAAR - University of ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?