Interactive NOW from the arctic!

Hello science teachers ! INTRODUCTION of a new interactive website about Canada's Ocean Science Research on-board the Amundsen Coast Guard vessel GEOTRACES is a group of scientists, and educators who are on-board a ship that is currently conducting research in the Arctic Ocean. They visit Paulatak, NWT tomorrow, will begin their voyage on Aug 27th, and travel north of the MacKenzie Delta, and end their trip near Inuvik on Sept 13/09. They are very interested in engaging with teachers and students from northern communities via their interactive website, and encourage you to track the ship's visit, ask questions about their experiences, and to find out more about the health of the Arctic Ocean through the useful links in the Teacher's Corner. Highlights of the website

• Teachers' Corner with useful links for background information and teaching ideas
• Live podcasts from an educator who is on-board - Jason Carpenter from Nunavut Arctic College
• Students' Questions - Students can pose a question to scientists, and scientists will write back during their cruise
• Chief Scientists' blog

http://cruise.pointgreysoftware.com/project During June of 2009, I had an opportunity to work this group of scientists from the University of British Columbia in the education outreach portion of their IPY project. They are from the department of Earth and Ocean Science, and are part of the Canadian contingent of the international group called GEOTRACES. They are dedicated to extending this research to students, teachers and community members across the north and look forward to your participation. The following link is for the department at UBC. http://www.eos.ubc.ca/ Their research mission is to assess the potential affects of climate change on Arctic Ocean nutrient cycling, productivity and ecosystem structure. They will examine the composition of trace elements that exist in the ocean, and study how trace elements may affect the food chain, specifically phytoplankton. To find out more about this cruise, and how you could engage your students in this research, please check out their website. For more details or questions, feel free to contact me. All the best for your school year. Thank you, Sarah Wade -- Sarah Wade Curriculum Writer Curriculum and School Services Nunavut Department of Education Box 390, Arviat, NU, X0C 0E0 9 Marquette Ave Ottawa, ON, K1L 5K3 613 746 1994 s_wade@kitikmeot.edu.nu.ca saritakwade@gmail.com