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Impact of Polar Climate Change on Living Systems
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Role of Sea Ice in Polar Ecosystems!
The first of two web seminars on the topic of Impact
of Polar Climate Change on Living Systems was held on Thursday, May 17,
2007, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. The presenter was
Dr. Rolf Gradinger, polar ecologist at the School of Fisheries and Ocean
Sciences at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Dr. Gradinger talked about the
role of sea ice in polar ecosystems.
Forty-seven (47) participants were present at the live Web Seminar in addition to
the presenter and the NSTA staff. Participating educators represented the states
of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas,
Washington, and Wyoming. One participant attended from Puerto Rico, another from
Canada and a third one from Luxemburg.
In this web seminar Dr. Gradinger talked about the difference in ice types comparing
the ice found on land with the ice found in the ocean. He also talked about the
unique properties of sea ice and highlighted the differences between the Arctic
and Antarctic regions. In addition, Dr. Gradinger described the organisms that live
within the sea ice and below it. All participants received a copy of NSTA's SciGuide
titled Living in the Weather, grades 5-8.
Here are some comments provided by the participants at the end of the Web Seminar:
- "I have little background in arctic life, and this seminar provided information
that will be very relevant to my science courses this fall."
- "I am developing a unit on ocean science so what was presented today will be
useful."
- "I am preparing a program on Astrobiology for the science center where I work.
The examples of organism that live in these extreme environments are great examples
as possible types of organisms that may be found in the cold solar system environments."
Thanks to the participants and the presenter for the learning opportunity, the interactions,
and a job well done!
Websites
For more information contact webseminars@nsta.org
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Underwritten in part by NSF, NASA, and NOAA.
