A Queens College (QC) professor from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences has led an expedition to an Antarctic ice shelf, to set up a research weather station as part of a science education initiative called the Con Edison/Queens College GLOBE-NY METRO program.
The meteorological station was brought to Antarctica as part of a National Science Foundation-funded expedition led by QC’s Stephen Pekar, accompanied by three of his students and a science teacher from a Harlem middle school.
Stormy weather delayed the last leg of the trip, and the group was stranded in New Zealand for several days, arriving “on the ice” late in October.
The expedition is studying sediment deposited in Antarctica during the Cretaceous period (from about 145 million to 65 million years ago) when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were somewhat higher than the highest projected levels for the end of this century.
Each day the station will monitor and feed data on air and ice temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover and other research into an international databank for use by students, teachers and scientists.
GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program, founded in 1994.
Currently, the program has 110 participating countries. There are 138 partners in the U.S. program, which is administered out of the University of Colorado.
“Con Edison has been a strong partner since 2001 when the college first became involved with GLOBE in New York,” said QC President James Muyskens. “In those seven years, the program has grown in size and scope, paving the way for future science education initiatives such as the Antarctica research weather station.”
The program emphasizes hands-on, age-appropriate activities that can be integrated into daily classroom work at any academic level.
Each school in the program receives research equipment and instruction in its use on-site. Participants monitor specific environmental conditions in five categories: air, soil, water, land use/land cover and seasonal change.
Students enter their findings into an international GLOBE database, which can be accessed by scientists around the world. To date, student researchers have submitted more than 14,000,000 pieces of information.
“Students aren’t just learning chemistry, physics or biology,” says Allan Ludman, GLOBE-NY Metro director and a professor in Queens College’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
“They’re learning about the natural world in a way that makes science understandable. At the same time, they are developing observational abilities, math skills, general literacy and a sense of inquiry,” Ludman said, calling it an “Integrated approach that can be applied to any academic subject.”
“Con Edison is committed to promoting energy efficiency and carbon policy awareness among all New Yorkers,” said Frances A. Resheske, Con Edison’s senior vice president for Public Affairs. “This Queens College program charts a great course for how tomorrow’s leaders will be better positioned to lead an enlightened public policy.”
For more information on the GLOBE project, visit www.globe.gov.
Check queenscourier.com next week for a video update!
