Antarctica
Antarctica Expedition Includes PASCO Equipment
Tina King, a fourth grade teacher from Mt.
Juliet, Tennessee, recently
completed a once-in-a-lifetime experience
by traveling to Antarctica. She was
part of a National Science
Foundation program titled "Teachers Experiencing
Antarctica and the
Arctic" program. The research program is "Seasonal Dynamics
of Giant
Agglutinated Foraminifera" and is led by Dr. Samuel S. Bowser from
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health in Albany, New
York.
Dr. Bowser has participated in a series of on-going investigations and research
at Explorers Cove since 1984.
The focus of the research was a seasonal study of the large, single-celled
organisms known as agglutinated foraminifera ("forams") found at the bottom of Explorers Cove, a shallow-water
embayment on the western side of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.This area is one of
the few places on Earth where scuba divers have access to a region that
resembles the deep ocean floor.
PASCO provided equipment to assist Tina's efforts in Antarctica. By using the
Xplorer datalogger and sensors, Tina collected information on temperature, pH,
dissolved oxygen, and salinity and hopes to determine how the organisms that
live within this marsh respond to seasonal changes.
Tina's comments: "This was an amazing program, which gives me the opportunity
to bring real science research into classrooms. The PASCO Xplorer datalogger was
very easy to use, especially during those times when my fingertips were freezing
as I took the water temperature. The temperature probe held up very well in the
cold. I also think it will be great for teachers to know that if the PASPORT can
withstand the harshness of Antarctica, then it can work as well with their
students." 