POLARIS PROJECT: RISING STARS IN THE ARTIC

• Sponsoring Institution: State Agricultural Experiment Station
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: STATE
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0212695
• Project Start Date: Jan 1, 2008
• Project End Date: Dec 31, 2010
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA
(N/A)
RENO,NV 89557

Performing Department
NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Non Technical Summary
The allure and mystique of the Arctic, combined with its central role in the global warming issue, make it the ideal place to capture the imagination of students, the public, and even early career scientists, and then engage them in interdisciplinary polar research and education. The Polaris Project is a multifaceted effort that includes: a field course and research experience for undergraduate students in the Siberian Arctic (summer 2008, 2009, 2010); several new arctic-focused undergraduate courses taught by project Co-PIs at their respective colleges across the United States and in Russia; the opportunity for Co-PIs (several of whom are early career scientists without prior arctic experience) to initiate research programs in the Siberian Arctic; and a wide range of outreach activities. The unifying scientific theme of the Polaris Project will be the transport and transformations of carbon and nutrients as they move with water from terrestrial uplands to the Arctic Ocean. This is a central issue in arctic system science and the Co-PIs were selected in part because of their potential to bring fresh insights - that in many cases were developed in non-arctic studies - to this complex topic. Thus, the Polaris Project will help train future leaders in arctic research and education, which is essential given the rapid and profound changes underway in the Arctic in response to global warming.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

50%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
112	0210	1070	100%

Knowledge Area
112 - Watershed Protection and Management;

Subject Of Investigation
0210 - Water resources;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

carbon and nutrients

terrestrial uplands

artic system science

artic research & education

training

global warming

Goals / Objectives
The allure and mystique of the Arctic, combined with its central role in the global warming issue, make it the ideal place to capture the imagination of students, the public, and even early career scientists, and then engage them in interdisciplinary polar research and education. The Polaris Project is a multifaceted effort that includes: a field course and research experience for undergraduate students in the Siberian Arctic (summer 2008, 2009, 2010); several new arctic-focused undergraduate courses taught by project Co-PIs at their respective colleges across the United States and in Russia; the opportunity for Co-PIs (several of whom are early career scientists without prior arctic experience) to initiate research programs in the Siberian Arctic; and a wide range of outreach activities. The unifying scientific theme of the Polaris Project will be the transport and transformations of carbon and nutrients as they move with water from terrestrial uplands to the Arctic Ocean. This is a central issue in arctic system science and the Co-PIs were selected in part because of their potential to bring fresh insights - that in many cases were developed in non-arctic studies - to this complex topic. Thus, the Polaris Project will help train future leaders in arctic research and education, which is essential given the rapid and profound changes underway in the Arctic in response to global warming. The Polaris Project will achieve a broad and lasting impact by engaging multiple audiences through a variety of mechanisms. At the undergraduate level, in addition to the summer field course and independent research experience in Siberia and on-campus courses taught be project Co-PIs, the project's influence will be further expanded by widely distributing all course materials (syllabi, PowerPoints) for use by faculty at other institutions who are interested in developing arctic-focused courses. To reach K-12 audiences, all project participants (both students and faculty) will visit K-12 classrooms to convey the excitement of polar research, and materials related to the project will be featured in the GoNorth curriculum which is used in thousands of K-12 schools worldwide. The Polaris Project website will feature student generated and maintained blogs to engage a wider audience and to help sustain a lasting Polaris Project community. Further impact will be achieved by working closely with the international IPY project office, which has agreed to feature the Polaris Project in its education and outreach materials. The initiation of the Polaris Project during the IPY capitalizes on the excitement generated by IPY and will create a lasting legacy by preparing the next generation of polar scientists (the undergraduate participants as well as the early career Co-PIs). The Polaris Project will emphasize several of the IPY priorities including attracting and developing the next generation of polar researchers, promoting diversity and involving arctic indigenous communities, integrating research and education, and providing authentic research experiences for undergraduate students.

Project Methods
The legacy of the Polaris Project will be multidimensional. First, there will be a cohort of ~30 undergraduate students (US and Russian, with focused recruiting of underrepresented groups) who will have an authentic self-directed research experience in the Siberian Arctic. We will work closely with these students and develop lasting relationships, and our expectation is that a subset of them will continue on to graduate school and pursue careers in arctic research. A much larger group of undergraduate students (several hundred) will take the arctic-focused courses offered at seven campuses (6 initially with a 7th added in Year 2) by PIs during the Polaris Project, and we expect they some of them will continue on and become part of the next generation of polar researchers. Furthermore, the undergraduate on-campus courses developed as part of the Polaris Project will continue to be taught after the project ends, and all course materials will be made available to anyone interested in offering a similar course at their institution. Similarly, the early career scientists involved as project PIs, several with no prior arctic experience, will have the opportunity to initiate research programs in the Siberian Arctic, which is ordinarily very difficult to do. Finally, the Polaris Project will engage a wide variety of outreach activities designed to excite and educate the public, including K-12 students and teachers, about arctic research and climate change.

Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: In this project my collaborators and I were able to provide research opportunities for over 30 undergraduate researchers in the Russian Arctic to investigate climate forcing and potential future impacts. Over 50 presentations were given at various scientific and public meetings. Students also presented their experiences in the classroom and at local schools and public media outlets. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The scientific presentations have led to feed back by scientists studying arctic environments and multiple scientific publications submitted by the students who participated in this work. It has also led to a renewal of funding by a subset of PI's.

Publications

• None to date 2010.

Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Polaris Project affiliated courses were taught at 6 institutions in the second year of the project with a combined enrollment of 185 students. In the first year of the project 24 students applied for the summer field course. Given the power of "word of mouth", we take it as a great sign that the number of applicants nearly doubled to 45 in Year 2. After lengthy deliberations among the PI group, 12 students (11 new and 1 returning) were offered the opportunity to participate in the field course. Again as in Year 1, all accepted. Given that they are an exceptional group of students who all were simultaneously pursuing other options, it is noteworthy that they all chose to participate in the Polaris Project. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
An important objective of the Polaris Project is to reach the general public with the story of our project and the importance of the Arctic in the context of global climate change. Below we list a selection of the media coverage of the Polaris Project as well as some of the presentations by Polaris Project participants to the general public or school groups. Two outreach activities from 2009 that are highlights are the the publication of an article about the Polaris Project by Andy Revkin of the New York Times, and 2) 10 videos that were made to highlight the overall project and student research experiences.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Polaris Project supported the development and teaching of new on-campus arctic ecosystems courses and a summer field research experience at an array of US and Russian institutions, involving students and faculty from both countries. Six on-campus courses were offered under the auspices of the project: one in Russia, four in Spring 2008 at four different US institutions, and one at an additional US institution in Fall 2008. The US courses included: Arctic System Science (Geography, Clark University) - Spring 2008, Arctic Ecosystem Ecology (Biology, Holy Cross)- Spring 2008, Arctic Ecosystem Ecology (Biology, St. Olaf College)- Spring 2008, Effects of Global Climate Change (Environmental Sciences, Western Washington University)- Spring 2008, Implications of Climate Change on Aquatic Ecosystems (Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno)- Fall 2008. The Polaris Project also supported the participation of US and Russian students and faculty in a summer field research project at the Northeast Science Station in Cherskiy, Siberia. Here we describe the results of the assessment data we collected from the US students participating in the on-campus courses and the summer field research project to ascertain the impact of these experiences on student learning. (We limited our assessment data collection to US students because the US institutions offered established review procedures to ensure the protection of human subjects.) PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
The assessment findings suggest that: (1) Both the on-campus courses and the summer field experience were very successful in accomplishing the project-specific intended outcomes for student learning; (2) the project was most successful in increasing understanding of arctic ecosystem science and awareness of human- accelerated changes in arctic ecosystems, and in giving the summer students first-hand experience in doing science; and (3) the learning gains described by Polaris students are commensurate with or better than the learning gains described by students in a national sample of other on-campus science courses and summer undergraduate research experiences.

Publications

• No publications reported this period