The purpose of the course is to familiarize elementary and high school teachers with the complex story of how the warming climate will impact Alaskan society, ecology, and hydrology through degradation of permafrost. The course will include local field trips around the Fairbanks area to observe and photograph evidence of permafrost degradation and its original formation during the last glaciation. Attendees will participate in field measurements of permafrost thermal and hydrological variables to quantitatively document the interdependence among the dynamic thermal and hydrological processes. The emphasis will be upon simple measurements and observations that may be conducted by students to better understand the Alaskan environment.Participants may earn one credit by registering with University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Sessions (http://www.uaf.edu/summer/). The cost is expected to be $60 USD. Each morning will be spent in an informal classroom-style setting where participants will discuss the
relationships and controls among climate, permafrost, and hydrology. There will be two afternoon field trips where participants will visit sites to actively engage in field process studies.
For more information, please contact:
Tohru Saito
E-mail: