ARISE Program

ARISE HeaderANDRILL and the ARISE Program

ANDRILL

drill rig ANDRILL is a new, exciting and ambitious drilling program that builds on a legacy of international efforts to recover important geological records that lie hidden beneath Antarctica’s icy blanket. The program’s primary objectives are to investigate Antarctica’s role in global environmental change over the past 65 million years and to better understand Antarctica’s future response to global changes. ANDRILL has built a state of the art drilling system designed to recover sediment and rock core from regions in Antarctica where these records were previously inaccessible. The new rig will obtain long sections of core from beneath Antarctica’s thick ice shelves and land in water up to 1 km deep. Two projects are currently supported by the national Antarctic Programs of Italy, Germany, New Zealand and the United States.

Cores Drilling operations for the first ANDRILL Project will begin in October 2006. The ANDRILL rig will penetrate the sea floor beneath the Ross Ice Shelf and recover sedimentary records spanning the last five million years. A team of over 50 scientists, science support personnel, and science educators will travel to Antarctica to study the core as it is pulled from beneath the ice.

TeacherARISE

ANDRILL has established an immersion experience for science educators (ARISE) to facilitate development of mechanisms and materials to effectively connect ANDRILL with the public. The program will provide science educators with an inside view of ANDRILL, will engage them in authentic Antarctic geoscience, and will utilize their expertise in education to develop and implement innovative approaches to geoscience education and public outreach. Elements of the program include: on and off-ice research experience, an Antarctic geoscience course, and an educational working group.

On and Off-Ice Research

On-Ice Research Experience

McMurdoDuring each project a cohort of six science educators will join the ANDRILL science team at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Each educator will become a member of a science discipline team and will be immersed in scientific investigation of the core and will accept all responsibilities that other science team members take on. Some examples of the science disciplines and associated activities include:

DiatomSedimentology: Examine and describe sedimentary layers as they vary through time in response to changing environmental conditions. Interpret a history for the region as conditions have fluctuated between ice-free, open-water and ice-covered marine environments.

Paleomagnetism: Sample the core and measure magnetic properties of the sediment. Identify times when the Earth’s magnetic field flipped. Help develop age models for the core.

Micropaleontology: Explore the fascinating microscopic world of fossilized organisms recovered from the core. Use these organisms to help develop age models and identify environmental change through time.

Geochemistry: Use state-of-the-art high-tech equipment to measure the chemical composition of the core. Identify changing mineral content and relate these changes to geological and environmental evolution.

Participating science educators will gain insight into the nature of large multidisciplinary international science projects. Educators will experience authentic scientific inquiry as the discipline teams generate their data from the core, integrate their data and work together to develop and debate interpretations and establish a history of environmental and climatic change for this important part of the Earth.

core layed outOff-Ice Research Experience

Science doesn’t stop when the ANDRILL team leaves Antarctica! You will maintain communication and collaboration with your discipline team members and continue studying data and material collected on the ice. Core will be shipped back to the United States and the whole ANDRILL science team will reconvene at Florida State University core repository to discuss initial findings, re-examine the core and sample for continued study of interesting sections and key intervals. Study of these newly sampled materials will continue for a year. The science team will meet again for final integration--a two and a half year process.

CraryAntarctic Geoscience Course

Over 25 international scientists with a variety of expertise in Antarctic geoscience will meet in Antarctica to work on ANDRILL core at the Crary Science and Engineering Center at McMurdo Station. ANDRILL will utilize this unique convergence of geoscience experts from around the world to offer a comprehensive introductory Antarctic geoscience course. Many of the ANDRILL scientists will deliver lessons in their specific interest areas to both science educators participating in the ARISE program and the broader community through distance education modules. Credit for this course will be offered through applicable institutions.

Education and Outreach Working Group

Outreach A major task for ARISE participants will be to develop innovative and effective education and outreach approaches based on knowledge gained during the research immersion experience. While on the ice, ARISE participants will meet on a regular basis to discuss and develop the EPO projects that they will be complete and implement upon returning to their home institutions in their respective nations. Scientists and graduate students will be encouraged to join the working group to help develop on-going collaboration between ANDRILL scientists and educators.

Eligibility & Application

SmileIf you are a science educator from Germany, New Zealand, Italy, or the United States and you want to participate in the ARISE program during the McMurdo Ice Shelf Project please prepare and submit an application to the ANDRILL Science Management Office (SMO) by February 25th, 2006. However, before you proceed you should consider the following basic criteria.

To participate in ARISE you must be:

  • Able to pass the standard physical exam required by your relevant national Antarctic Program
  • Ready to spend up to two and a half months in Antarctica
  • Prepared to actively engage in all four elements of the ARISE program
  • Ready to engage in ANDRILL research and educational activities that will likely continue over a 2½ year period
  • Committed to develop and implement innovative approaches to bring Antarctic geoscience to the public

In addition to the criteria list above, U.S. participants must travel to meet with their "host" science team leader prior to deploying to Antarctica.

If you feel you meet the criteria required to participate in ARISE please prepare a proposal describing your education & outreach project and submit it to the SMO. Your proposal should include the following components:

  • Name and contact information (including phone number and email address)
  • Institutional affiliation (School, museum, university, corporation etc.)
  • An overview of your project/project scope (no more than two pages).
    Please identify:
    • i. your project goals
    • ii. your method/approach
    • iii. any materials you plan to produce (e.g. a children’s book, curriculum materials, web-based materials, video etc.)
    • iv. your primary target audience
  • A description of why participation in ARISE is required to meet your project goals
  • A project timeline including anticipated dates for key deliverables
  • An outline of anticipated/required financial support and existing or proposed funding sources
  • Curriculum vitae/Resume

Christchurch, NZPlease note that the international ANDRILL Program (through the national Antarctic Programs of the participating nations) will provide key logistical support including: (1) travel from Christchurch, New Zealand to McMurdo Station in Antarctica and return, (2) required emergency cold weather gear (ECW), (3) accommodation in Antarctica. Each participating nation has unique funding opportunities to support other activities not covered by the international program. Applicants are encouraged to contact relevant members of the M-ASIC for further information. U.S. participants will receive support for travel from U.S. point of origin to Christchurch, New Zealand. U.S. participants may also receive some financial support from the U.S. Science Support Program (e.g. a stipend or funds to cover substitute teacher support for participating K-12 teachers). U.S. applicants are encouraged to contact the ANDRILL Science Management Office for details.

Please contact Dr. Richard Levy at the ANDRILL Science Management Office if you have any queries.
126 Bessey Hall
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE, 68588
USA
email: rlevy2@unl.edu
phone: (402) 472-6723