Back to Polar Oceans Page Back to Polar Oceans Educational Activities Page This activity can also be downloaded as a Word document Robert Simmon, NASA. Minor modifications by Robert A. Rohde (Public Domain) Background: Circulation ...

Back to Polar Oceans Page Back to Polar Oceans Educational Activities Page This activity can also be downloaded as a Word document. Image from ...

Return to Main Land and Life Page Background: Layers of perennially frozen ground known as permafrost exist under about 20% of the Earth’s surface. Permafrost occurs on land in both the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as beneath the ocean around the Arctic coast and in many high mountain areas. Seasonal thawing and freezing of the soil forms a shallow active layer that overlies the permafrost. In contrast, deep permafrost, frozen to depths of 500 to 1000 meters, may have existed in a frozen state for thousands of years. Frozen soils have greater mechanical stability than unfrozen soils. Permafrost degradation can cause problems for roads, pipelines ...

Return to Main Land and Life page Here is a list of IPY projects studying Land and Life. In addition, there are several organisations that have further information and activities. Land: Glacier and Permafrost Hazards in Mountains (GAPHAZ) Antarctic Permafrost and ...

Activity time: 20-30 minutes + freezing time PDF version, with pictures, to download: Sea ice and circulation activity.pdf BACKGROUND: The freezing temperature of water depends on the amount of dissolved salts (salinity). Normal ocean water, with a salinity of about 3.4%, begins to freeze when temperatures reach about -1.9°C. At its maximum extent in the winter, sea ice covers about 19 million square kilometres of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. Approximately 80% of this ice melts each summer, contributing to the global mixing of ocean water. Vertical mixing of ocean water, known as ‘overturning circulation’ or ‘thermohaline...

Educational resources and activities By following-up on the expedition's progress, teachers and their students will learn about various polar topics of importance. All through the Arctic Arc expedition (from February to June 2007), teaching tools, multimedia animations, picture galleries, ...

Educational resources and activities By following-up on the expedition's progress, teachers and their students will learn about various polar topics of importance. All through the Arctic Arc expedition (from February to June 2007), teaching tools, multimedia animations, picture galleries, inte...

Cape Farewell Education aims to: facilitate learning about climate change and participation in the climate change debate among teachers and pupils in UK schools. give school students a voice in the climate change debate and to enable them to take what they have learnt and talked about back home into their communities and families spread enthusiasm and strategies for learning about climate change throughout UK schools. We have a number of resources available to teachers and pupils Life in the Water is a GSCE Science resource commissioned by Nuffield Curriculum Centre and developed with scientists at the National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton as part of the 21st centu...

Cape Farewell Education aims to: facilitate learning about climate change and participation in the climate change debate among teachers and pupils in UK schools. give school students a voice in the climate change debate and to enable them to take what they have learnt and talked about back home into their communities and families spread enthusiasm and strategies for learning about climate change throughout UK schools. We have a number of resources available to teachers and pupils Life in the Water is a GSCE Science resource commissioned by Nuffield Curriculum Centre and developed with scientists at the National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton as part of the 21st centu...

The sea near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, is -2° C, but the water is not frozen at that temperature. Why? In this activity, students can explore some of the properties of water and ice by making their own ice cream. MATERIALS: (per pair of students) 2 heavy duty ziploc bags per student—1 large and 1 small ½ cup milk 1 Tablespoon sugar ½ teapoon vanilla Ice salt 2 spoons 2 bowls DIRECTIONS: 1. Place the milk, vanilla and sugar in the small Ziploc bag and carefully close it, being sure there are no leaks. 2. Place the small bag inside the larger one. 3. Surround the small bag with ice to ½ the large bag capacity. 4. Give each pair of students a differen...