Climate Change at the Arctic Edge with Brian Knoop

BLOG ACTION DAY: get involved

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:59:00 +0000

We need to get involved. Yes, big things will help but we’re forgetting about the individual actions we can make ourselves. Some of us are downright lazy. Is it really that hard to walk a few more steps to recycle rather than put your crumpled-up piece of paper in a landfill? Here’s my question for you today. Have you walked those extra steps?

Natalie D.

BLOG AUCTION DAY: THE PERSONAL WRITING OF A TYPICAL 7TH GRADER!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:32:00 +0000

There are many things I fear about the dramatic changes in climate. But, one of by biggest concerns are that my great grandchildren wil not be able to live as long as sixety years old, and that they will never be able to make a snow man or go skiing, and that is very frightening. Because what would the world be without people and climate? I have seen that there has resently been more and more discoveries about how to stop the changes in climate. They are very realistic and can really help people and I appreciate all the work done by researchers, scientist, volunteers, ect. but I have seen that most of the world gets there information for the television and there is not as many commercials about these changes in climate as there is of commersials of alcohol, theme parks, or food so people can't know what their doing wrong. The way we can change that is by is show them what they are doing wrong, then present a way they can start back on the right track without having to spend a lot of money. There are many ways that you can show people what there doing wrong such as, as i mentioned before television, the radio, and also by doing little things like putting posters on telephone poles or by hanging them by gas stations or grocercy stores, or by doing walks that people contribute money to, so that researchers have the opportunity to have the money to finish their research. In the future hopefully scientist will have found a way to stop forever the changes in climate for the sake of the whole world and its contents. For the fear of one person is the fear of the whole world.

BLOG ACTION DAY; THE THOUGHTS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:55:00 +0000

BLOG ACTION DAY 2009: CLIMATE CHANGE

THE WORDS YOU READ TODAY IN THIS BLOG ARE NOT MINE, THE WORDS IN THIS BLOG ON OCTOBER 15, 2009 COME FROM CHILDREN, MY STUDENTS HERE AT ST. HENRY SCHOOL IN NASHVILLE, TN. THEY ARE THE INDIVIDUALS WHO IN TWENTY, THIRTY AND FORTY YEARS FROM NOW WILL FEEL THE IMPACT OF THE PRESENT. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ AND REFLECT ON THE THOUGHTS OF THESE TWELVE AND THIRTEEN YEAR OLD STUDENTS AND I HOPE THAT AS YOU READ THEM THAT YOU WILL FIND SOMETHING IN THESE WORDS WHICH WILL MAKE YOU WORK HARDER TO TAKE CARE OF WHAT WE HAVE.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BLOG ACTION DAY VISIT THE WEBSITE BELOW.
http://www.blogactionday.org/

ENJOY AND REFLECT.

BLOG ACTION DAY: THOUGHTS OF A 7TH GRADER

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Dear Mr. Knoop,

I personally think that humans are causing drastic speeding up of the Earth's natural heating and cooling cycle. I believe that this will cause a problem if now but in the distant future.

Also, heating Earth is causing the polar icecaps to melt, which then cause flooding and rising of water levels. The rising water levels can put certain cities in danger, and destroy communities with floods.

I also think that the levels of pollution, which are extremely high, are causing many people to fall ill when otherwise they might be fine.

I think that humans are causing drastic changes on Earth and that we should change our ways so to reach a better world for us and our posterity to live in. If we try hard enough and stick to it we can save the Earth from any further damage. After all, Earth is all we've got.
Rebecca C.

BLOG ACTION DAY: A 7TH GRADE STUDENTS VIEW

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:34:00 +0000

Hey Mr. Knoop !!!

Here's my opinion on climate change:

Climate change affects every living creature: from the smallest animal to the tallest tree, and everything in between. We as the next generation of leaders need to step up and take the challenge. We need to do something to stop the changes, one being global warming. If we recycle more and throw away less, we can reduce quantities of waste in landfills, whose wastes pollute the air. Also, if there is water underneath the surface of the Earth, the wastes can seep underground and pollute the water as well. These are just a few of the many reasons that if we all pitch in, we can make this Earth a brighter, cleaner, and more efficient place for every person, animal, and plant on this awesome planet.

Juan José R.

"No Place Like Home"

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:43:00 +0000

Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:24:00 +0000

As this experience in Churchill comes to a close I must thank many people. I will not mention names on the blog, only titles.

My administration at SHS for giving me the time away from school at the beginning of a new school year. THANKS!

My substitute teacher who for the past eight school days has taken over my classes. THANKS!

My colleagues at SHS for your support and rearranging of schedules to accommodate my skype calls. I know it is a disruption to your subject area teaching time to pull those students together. THANKS!

To my family, for your love and support of my involvement in this journey. THANKS!

To my students, who I am sure you have behaved for your sub and for replying to my posts on this blog. It was nice to see your comments and questions. THANKS!

THANKS TO ALL!

PS. As I am writing this post someone came in and said we all need to go outside and see this beautfull sunset. I did and it is a beautiful sunset,a bright orange peeking through the clouds over the flat tundra and trees. A perfect sunset. How timing as the sun sets on this journey.

Some Closing Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:28:00 +0000

Only a few more opportunities to post on this blog as my time here in Churchill winds down. This has been a great experience, and I look forward to sharing it with my students, colleagues, friends, family and anyone who wants to listen.

However, this is just the start. Upon my return to school, I will work with my students and we will continue on this journey together, with a goal to make everyone more appreciative of this place we call Earth. God has blessed us with a beautiful place to live, a place like no other that we are aware of. We must not take it for granted, we must not live in the present, we must think of the future.

The human mind can not comprehend geologic time, we can not imagine 500 hundred years into the future, much less 5000, or 500,000. There are things that we can do now to protect our planet for future generations.We must understand what we can do and do it. There are things related to our environment and climate change that we have no control over, that is God's will, and we accept it.

Throughout geologic history there have been many changes to this earth and there will continue to be changes, some soon, others later, but the reality is there will be change. It is like we are on the Titanic and we know the iceberg is straight ahead and we are heading right for it, yet we have time to do something. Do we make the necessary adjustments and just graze the iceberg, or do we do nothing and hit it head on? I prefer to just graze the iceberg.

The little things that we all do can make a difference.

Walking through the wetland

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:49:00 +0000

For your viewing pleasure. In this video we have just completed our dig for soil samples in this white spruce wetland.

A few more questions from those great SHS students

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:26:00 +0000

hi its emily m

when you were on your tour did you see any sharks? no, we did not see any. i am not certain if they are in the Hudson bay.

how big were the beluga whales and do they live there all year? They average about 14 feet in length. They do not live here all year long. They spend some time here in the summer and then begin to move out of the Churchill area. We actually have missed the "peak season" for viewing them, but we saw plenty.

mary g w

How much organic matter was in your samples? It depends on the location where the sample is taken. It ranged anywhere from about 5cm in depth below the surface to 2m below the surface.

How long do polar bears live? The individuals who are up here doing the research said they can live between 20-25 year.

What kind of degree would you need if you wanted to work on this type of research(that you're doing) for a job? It would be an environmental science degree.

what kind of gov. does Canada have? They have a democracy. With a Prime Minister and a Parliament. Similar to ours, just different terminology.

Maddie Rae S.
I have a question:
In a past post, you said something about FEN. Does that stand for anything??????? The letters FEN do not stand for anything. That is the way we have been writing it on our data when we collect samples from the fen. It is a wetland in the tundra. You have heard of a bog, a swampland, well they are all similar in being in a low area with great amounts water, but different nutrients, gases etc. in each.

The Field Work Is Complete

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:24:00 +0000

Today we completed our last day in the field as we visited two sites to collect soil samples and to count seedlings.

At one site we used a permafrost core to go down about two meters to get below the permafrost. Beneath the permafrost was sand and a small piece of a sea shell. Yes, once upon a time the land where this tundra exits today was once part of a sea.

When using the permafrost core the organic matter that we are bringing up has been beneath the surface for thousands of years and has quite a stinch. A question for your notebook: Why does organic matter have such a strong order?

The depth of the permafrost at the different sites that we have explored has been anywhere from 27cm to to 47cm. At two locations we have used the permafrost core to find out how thick the permafrost is, those depths have been 1.5 meters and 2.0 meters thick. Beneath the permafrost at both locations has been the evidence of sand and minerals.

Tomorrow we have some lab work to finish up and then begin the process of cleaning up the lab, and packing for the 11:00am flight home on Tuesday. I fly from Churchill to Minneapolis, MN to Nashville, with a scheduled arrival in Nashville at 10:00pm on Tuesday night.

Listed below is a link that has some new photos, including your Polar Bear.

Updated Photos From Churchill, MB

Answers to some of your questions

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:15:00 +0000

Hey Mr. Knoop !! Hope you're having fun being a tourist !!
How big is the largest polar bear that the scientist who researches them has told you about ???? In talking w/ one of the researchers who is currently up here he said they had one the other day who is two meters in length and weighed slightly over 700 kilograms.

juan josé r. 7p

How many whales, if any, did you see in Churchill ??? We did not count. There were many in the bay out by the grain elevator. They were easy to spot.

Juan José R. 7P

What is your favorite activity at the CNSC ?? Sleeping or eating. :) The rest of the time is working.

Juan José R. 7P

Hi, Mr. Knoop!! what kind of bugs are flying around you in that picture, and are they poisonous? Have fun on your tourist day! The bugs are tiny black flies or mosquitoes. They are not poisonous, but the black fly bites can cause swelling and redness.

<3 TORI C. :D

hey mr. knoop! i have some questions:
-How long does it take you to find decaying organic matter? Not long at all. Most of the time is it close to the surface and in some locations in goes down quite deep.
-How much organic matter have you found so far? A bunch, anywhere we dig it is there.
-Do you measure the seedlings and look for organic matter in the same day or do you do them on separate days? We do that at each site. We dig and get samples of organic matter and count seedlings in each location. That has been our primary focus on the expedition.
-What did you do as a "tourist" today? We saw polar bears, bald eagles, falcons, whales, a fox, jellyfish on the beach, sandhill cranes, canadian eskimo dogs along with many other wonders of nature.
Hope your having fun and I hope these are considered legit questions! Great questions.
Sarah G.

Permafrost Video

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:38:00 +0000

Sorry, I left off the video. Time to call it a night.

Aurora borealis

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:08:00 +0000

Polar Bears and Beluga Whales yesterday. Late tonight (Saturday night) we were able to see the Aurora Borealis. Quite a spectacular showing. Unfortunately I was not able to take any quality pictures with my camera, but we did have someone here who appears to have some good pictures that I will share with you.

Today we were out at the wetlands and did battle with the bugs and dug in more mud. It was also quite warm here today with temperatures in the mid 20's celcius. You convert. I hope you all are getting use to reading and seeing things in metric form, for that is the way it will be.

While in the field today we collected more organic matter samples and counted any seedlings that we find within a certain area. We also did some permafrost coring and digging.

I will attach a video of the permafrost digging.

You need to research the auroa borealis and place that information into your notebooks.

Finally, some of you have posted great questions that I have not posted or had the chance to respond to. I like it that you are keeping me busy with questions and responses to my questions, but I am beginning to fall behind as our work load here is getting a little heavier. I will respond to your questions on this blog and post them in the near future. Today was a long day as we were out in the field at 8:30am came back for lunch at 12:15 back in the field from 1:30-5:30pm, had dinner at 6:00 and then did lab work from 7:00-9:00pm. While in the lab we are processing a large number of soil samples,and have many more to process and collect. So it will be a busy Sunday, but I will do my best to answer your questions.

Answers to some of your questions

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:21:00 +0000

Hey mr knoop! Here are my questions.
Why is it important to know the percentage of the organic matter that is in each sample? WE TOOK SAMPLES AT DIFFERENT DEPTHS, 0-10cm, 11-20cm and 20-30cm. IF THE RESEARCHERS KNOW APPROXIMATELY HOW MUCH ORGANIC MATTER IS AT THE VARIOUS DEPTHS THEN THEY CAN BEGIN TO MAKE PREDICTIONS AS TO HOW MUCH CO2 AND CH4 COULD BE RELEASED WHEN THAT ORGANIC MATTER BEGINS TO DECOMPOSE.
What are you going to work on tomorrow? WE WILL PROBABLY BE OUT COUNTING SEEDLINGS AND DOING MORE SOIL WORK FOR THE REMAINDER OF OUR TIME HERE. THERE MAY BE A CHANCE TO DO SOME CORING DEEPER INTO THE SURFACE TO ATTEMPT TO GET AT THE PERMAFROST LEVEL IN SOME LOCATIONS.
The other day, why did you want to know how tall the white spruce seedlings were? IN SOME CASES THE SEEDLINGS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 14 YEARS OLD AND ONLY 30cm TALL. THIS GIVES SCIENTIST AN IDEA AS TO HOW WELL THE TREES ARE HANDLING THE WEATHER CLOSER TO THE COAST LINE AS COMPARED TO FURTHER SOUTH (INLAND).

GREAT QUESTIONS.
marylauren m.

Just what you've been waiting for!

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Hello SHS students. Here is what you have been waiting for me to see up here in Churchill. Yes, that is a Polar Bear lounging on the rocks along the coast of the Hudson Bay. Actually we saw three today on our day off. This one was the closest at about 150meters away.

We also saw many beluga whales, a couple of bald eagles, fox, sandhill cranes, jellyfish and many other types of birds. It was perfect weather with the temperature about 12 degrees Celsius, a little breezy along the coast and most importantly no hassles with the black flies and mozzies (mosquitios) as they call them in the UK.
More pics and answers to some of your questions will be in a later blog.

Fighting The Bugs

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:32:00 +0000

Look carefully. Notice the bugs around the head. Now you know why I wear gloves in temperatures at 15 degrees Celsius and wear the bug net as well.

Lab time and field time

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:17:00 +0000

Today's morning session was spent in the lab processing the samples from yesterday's collection in the FEN. After lunch and having a skyping session with the SHS 7th graders we went back into the filed to collect more organic matter samples.

Great job today 7th grade with the questions you had. You and the 8th grade had some great questions over the last two days and those sessions went well. I hope to connect with you all again.

In this photo I am in the lab breaking up organic matter with a mortar and pestle, and then placing the sample in a crucible to determine it's mass. After getting it's mass I then place it in a muffle oven to be baked for four hours at 550 degrees Celsius. After being in the oven at that temp all organic matter will be burned off and we will then know the percentage of the organic matter that is in a particular sample.

We are reversing the process tonight as you will have the opportunity to ask questions and I will post those questions that are legitimate. Any question that is posted will get you "clipboard points". Your questions may relate to things we discussed prior to my departure, what we are currently doing up here at the CNSC, the town of Churchill, Polar Bears, Beluga Whales, organic matter, permafrost coring, etc. I will post your questions if they are legit and I will then get answers posted. No need to ask questions about what the food is like or what I had for dinner. Keep them legit. :)

Tomorrow is our day off. Yeah! We are heading to downtown Churchill, population 954. We also have a guide that will take us (hopefully) to see some whales, and a Polar Bear.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Today Was Skype Day

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:15:00 +0000

The highlight of today was connecting with those great SHS students. It was so nice to see your smiling faces, hear your voices, for those minutes today it did not feel like I was 2500 km from you. Your greeting of singing the Canadian National Anthem was quite impressive, and you did a good job of focusing once you completed your singing.

Your had good questions, you appeared to be paying attention, the noise level was low so that I could hear you and you could hear me---great job. I hope to "drop in" for a spontaneous call at some point, so you need to be on your best behavior. :)

As I mentioned in the skype session today our morning was at a FEN, which is similar to a swamp with a main difference being a swamp has more trees and a FEN has very few trees and much more organic matter than in a swamp. With each step we took today in the FEN our feet would sink several centimeters in the mud. Quite a mess. Then on our way back to the research station our van broke down, thus the delay in connecting for our skype session.

Our afternoon session was out closer to the coast at a tree island where we did some more digging for organic matter and searching for white spruce seedlings. We will begin drying the mud samples in the ovens on Thursday to determine how much carbon was in each sample.

Guess what Friday is? It is an off day for us. We get to go into the town of Churchill for a full day of being a "tourist". It will be nice to take a break from crawling on my hands and knees searching for seedlings or digging in mud for organic matter.

I am looking forward to talking with the 7th grade on Thursday at about 12:20. I am sure you will have some great questions.

Link to photos

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:27:00 +0000

Churchill Photos

Who is that masked man?

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:29:00 +0000

Putting data into the palm pilot.

Rain & Bugs

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:56:00 +0000

Wind and rain greeted the team this morning as we headed out to a "tree island" located on tundra close to the coast. Our mission, to collect the same measurements on seedlings that we have been gathering from the "tree plantation" earlier in the week.

The "tree island" is where white spruce have grown naturally from seedlings, where as the "tree plantation" is when those seedlings were planted in rows by man. Both are located in tundra areas, with the research study to see how each sampling grows and deals with the weather.

Although the rain ended for the afternoon session and the wind subsided, another more annoying problem started flying around. Yes, the much talked about black fly and mosquitoes begin to seek us. After about 15 minutes of swatting these tiny creatures, many of us headed to the van to put on our bug gear. This did wonders in keeping the bugs off of our skin, but for a few people it was to late. I was bitten on the hand as were a few other colleagues.Unfortunately one individual was bitten just below both eyes, causing a little swelling. What do we wish for? if it is cold, rainy and windy the bugs are not a problem. Maybe that is our wish. Or, do we wish for warmer weather, dry skies and the onslaught of bugs? At this point, I prefer the cooler temperatures, and the rain.

During the afternoon session we began to take soil samples to determine the organic content of soil located in this tundra area. These samples taken from a tundra site at a depth of about 10cm, with the hope to get three samples. However, there was no organic matter below the first four centimeters.

Some questions for you. What happens to organic matter when it begins to decay? What do you think is a contributing factor in causing the organic matter to decay? "Clipboard Points" for the correct answers.

I look forward to talking with the 8th graders on Wednesday and then the 7th grade on Thursday.

Do We Look Like We Know What We Are Doing?

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:32:00 +0000

Of Course We Do!

We are on the tundra here in the white spruce plantation.

Counting Terminals on a White Spruce Seedling

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Knoop) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:23:00 +0000

Climate Change at the Arctic Edge with Brian Knoop

BLOG ACTION DAY: get involved

BLOG AUCTION DAY: THE PERSONAL WRITING OF A TYPICAL 7TH GRADER!!!

BLOG ACTION DAY; THE THOUGHTS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

BLOG ACTION DAY: THOUGHTS OF A 7TH GRADER

BLOG ACTION DAY: A 7TH GRADE STUDENTS VIEW

"No Place Like Home"

Thanks

Some Closing Thoughts

Walking through the wetland

A few more questions from those great SHS students

The Field Work Is Complete

Answers to some of your questions

Permafrost Video

Aurora borealis

More of your questions

Answers to some of your questions

Just what you've been waiting for!

Fighting The Bugs

Lab time and field time

Today Was Skype Day

Link to photos

Who is that masked man?

Rain & Bugs

Do We Look Like We Know What We Are Doing?

Counting Terminals on a White Spruce Seedling