Contact

Arctic adventurers return home to the Wirral

30th 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.

Mandi and Emma in the Arctic - the Amundsen can be seen 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 Inuits 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 Inuvialuktum 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, 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.'

Mandi and colleagues extracting ice cores from the frozen Arctic Ocean

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.'

She added, '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 now 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.

Anyone who would like the opportunity to hear what Mandi and Emma got up to, and see photographs and video images taken during the expedition should go along to West Kirby Grammar School, Graham Road, Wirral, at 6.30pm on Wednesday 30 April.

Emma tries her hand at dog-sledding

---

Notes

The Proudman Oceanographic (POL) scientific research focuses on oceanography encompassing global sea-levels and geodesy, numerical modelling of continental shelf seas and coastal sediment processes. This research alongside activities of surveying, monitoring, data management and forecasting provides strategic support for the wider mission of the Natural Environment Research Council.

As a public funded body it is part of our remit to inform the public of the science and research undertaken at the laboratory. Attending events like the 'Ocean Awareness Weekend' at the Blue Planet Aquarium offers the opportunity for our scientists to meet members of the public and present the laboratory's work.

The Natural Environment Research Council is one of the UK's eight Research Councils. It uses a budget of about £ 350m a year to fund and carry out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists. It is addressing some of the key questions facing mankind, such as global warming, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.