Wednesday September 24, 2008
One of the questions I received was "What is a tundra?" The simple answer is a treeless plain. The word comes from the Finnish (what country is that?) and is the coldest of biomes. There is little precipitation, low biotic diversity, and simple vegetation structure. There is a short season of growth and most energy and nutrients come from dead organic matter. There are two tundra environments: Arctic and Alpine.Today I continued with my team taking tree samples. We are still in the forest area but have only one tree left for tomorrow and then we move out to the forest-tundra.
Some other students asked if I had seen any animals yet. We did find a lot of this all over the forest site. It is SCAT, or goose pooh. One of my fellow teammates is excited by finding this but is looking for larger deposits, such as polar bear scat. But Carly, our Earthwatch Coordinator says that polar bears don't eat very much this time of year. They're waiting for the ice to come so they can go out on the ice and hunt for seals. So far though, NO POLAR BEARS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED. KEEP WATCHING MY BLOG!
Here are the tree core samples we took from the trees today. When we remove them from the tree borer, we tuck them nice and eat into straws. (Just like those you get from McDonald's) Both ends of the straw are tapped so the piece or pieces don't fall out. Back at the lab, we remove the pieces and put them on cedar strips. After the pieces dry, they will be glued down and sanded. Then the rings will be counted to find the age of the trees and climatic changes. The Earthwatch Team is just collecting the data and not analyzing it.
Think about it. How do scientists go about their work? What do they have to do first? Looking at the information I've given you so far, what is the hypothesis the scientists are trying to prove? Send me your answers.
posted by Ms. Pat Gill @ 7:20 PM
17 Comments:
what kind of materials did you use to get the tree core samples
O.A class508 ms.perry
Ms.Gill Will you be visiting both Alpine and Artic?
M.J.S class508 ms.perry
What are the people like on your trip? What does
a tree look like inside?
402 divine tayior
hi this is paige and cyayn we wanted to ask you did you ever blow your whistle because of a polar bear?
its paige and cyayn we wanted to know what have you found while you are hunting in the arctic with the other teachers?!
What is Skyping?
What is Skyping?
Breanna , 507
can you send a picture of the crashed plane and any polar bears spotted? daetuan snagg 507 mslissade
How cold is it in the arctic?
how cold is it in the artitc?
to:ms.gill
from:ashleh
208
Hi Ms gill this is Salena from class 208 how is it going in the Arctic?What have you discovered?Why were you lookin for poop?I saw some of the people that work with you.What will you do if you see a Polar Bear?How cold is it in the Arctic?How many rings did you find in the trees that you found?How many layers of clothing do you have to wear?Is it cold to you?
What type of tree are you taking samples from? When scientists analyze the tree rings, do different tree species yield different results (and is one species preferred)?
Have you seen any polar bears yet?
This is Matthew class 208. Is there alot of people? How many scientists are there? How long will you be there?
I took some pictures of the plane you are talking about. It is quite interesting. I will find out the story behind it for you.
It can get -50 degrees celsius during the winter but it is nit that cold yet. It has been in the thirties but the wind was very strong yesterday which changes the temperature.
I had no polar bear pictures to post until saturday when i actually saw one. I will find my plane pic for yo as well.
Google weather and check out arctic weather and let me know.
I wear a great many layers. First I put on long johns, then a special shirt with wicking, to grab my sweat, and fleece pants. Then ski pants and maybe rain pants, polar fleece hoodie, snow parks, hat, glove liners, gloves, sock liners, wool socks, and waterproof hiking boots.
The number of rings on the trees we cored depend on how old the tree is. I just found out tonight that a tree that is just 5 cm. high can be 7 or 8 years old.
In order to get the core samples we had to use the corer which has three pieces. The two parts that fit into the actual corer (it looks like a cork screw you open wine bottles with) and the long spoon that fits inside after you core to bring out the specimen (tree core). The tre core looks like a tiny cigar and the color varies from creamy white to dark brown with rings. Sometimes it is solid and other times falls apart and is crumbly.
I am visiting the Arctic edge in Canada.
All the teachers on my trip are from the United
States. Some are science teachers, others music, special education and classroom teachers. We go from 2nd grade through high school.
Every time i core a tree i feel sad because i am putting a hole in it. Steve, our scientist d=says the holes close up but i don;t think the trees really like him.
No, i haven;t had to blow my whistle as we haven;t had any polar bears at our work sites.
Skyping is talking to other people through the internet. it is one of many programs you can use.
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