• Home
• About Us
• Funding
• Our Research
• Working with business

• Careers
• Publications
• Press
• Events

Arctic adventurers return home

25 April 2008

A Wirral school may have a Polar scientist in the making after one of its students had an action-packed adventure in the frozen Arctic.

Emma Brown and her teacher, Mandi Szuplewski, have had the time of their lives carrying out scientific experiments in the Canadian High Arctic. Having lived the Arctic dream they have returned home with a wealth of new experiences, knowledge and memories of people they will never forget.

Emma and Mandi on the ice, with the Amundsen in the background

"It's been a fantastic opportunity that neither of us ever dreamed we would have," said Mandi. "We've had so many incredible experiences. For instance, when we arrived in the Arctic the first thing I noticed was that the inside of my nostrils had frozen - it's a sensation I'll always remember."

Emma, a student at West Kirby Grammar School, won the chance to participate in the two-week International Polar Year science expedition when she entered a competition run by the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory in Liverpool. The expedition was part of the Schools on Board programme run by the University of Manitoba in Canada.

The first part of the trip involved meeting the Inuit people of Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik in the Northern Territories. Mandi and Emma, along with other students and teachers from Spain, China, Canada and the USA, learned about the diverse Inuit culture and heard how climate change is affecting the environment and way of life in these northern communities.

Emma talked with school students in Inuvik, and with some of the Elders of the town. "They explained how they have observed the effects of climate change over the years. Seasons are changing, the number of Caribou - which the Inuit hunt for food - is rapidly declining, and the sea-ice is receding," she said.

The group heard songs from Arctic Voices, a student band that is working hard to raise awareness of climate change. They had a lesson in the unique Inuvialuktun language and were invited to try some of the traditional Inuit food, including muktuk (beluga whale blubber). Emma said, "It was great to try the different types of food but I didn't fancy the muktuk!"

The second part of the expedition was aboard the Canadian Icebreaker CCGS Amundsen. Guided by an international team of research scientists, the student and teacher group carried out field experiments on the Arctic sea-ice and in the ship's laboratories below deck.

Mandi and colleagues extract ice cores

Mandi, who teaches physics at West Kirby Grammar School, helped one research team drill down into the frozen ocean and extract tubular ice-cores, recorded the temperature and salinity levels, and took them into the laboratory to test for pollutants deposited from the atmosphere. She said, "One of my dreams for this trip was to get involved in some real Arctic science, so that wish has now become a reality. Another dream was realised at two o'clock the next morning when we witnessed the spectacular Northern Lights dancing and swirling across the sky - that was truly amazing."

Emma's favourite part of the research work was releasing a weather balloon fitted with a radiosonde, a small device that measures the temperature, humidity and pressure of the atmosphere as the balloon ascends. She explained, "We filled the balloon with helium, attached the radiosonde and released it from the ship's helipad. The radiosonde returns data via satellites to computers on board the Amundsen. After dinner we checked the data and the balloon reached a height of 23km before popping at a temperature of -50·3°C.

"Life on board the icebreaker was just brilliant and it made me realise that this is what I really want to do. I'm very interested in science and this has really brought home how important it is to do the research that informs us about climate change. It was so different to doing experiments in the lab at school - it was an experience I shall never forget."

Since returning home, Emma and Mandi have given talks and presentations to the other teachers and pupils at West Kirby Grammar School. They are also holding an open evening to tell people about their experiences of Arctic life and the research that will help us to understand more about how our planet is changing.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Notes

1. Schools on Board is an outreach programme of ArcticNet. It was developed to bridge Arctic research with science education. This was the first time that the programme has been opened up to schools internationally.

2. The International Polar Year is a large scientific programme focused on two full annual cycles of the science undertaken in the Arctic and the Antarctic, from March 2007 to March 2009. It will involve over 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics.

3. The Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory is a world-leading centre in tidal and storm surge prediction and is a leading European centre in modelling and forecasting coastal water environments. POL scientists are experts in sea level rise - predicted to rise substantially this century. It is one of the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) research centres.

Press release: 19/08