International Polar Day Event at Elizabeth City Middle School
On September 24, 2008, the Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing and Education (CERSER) observed International Polar Day - People with a presentation by Mr. Je'aime Powell, Polar Grid Manager, at Elizabeth City Middle School. The classes of Mrs. Wanda Hathaway took part in the presentation. This event was held as part of the International Polar Year a large scientific program focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009.
Mr. Powell's presentation took the students to Ilulissat, Greenland where he participated in the 2008 Greenland Research Expedition as a representative from Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) along with Dr. Eric Akers to join Polar Grid Team members from Indiana University (IU) and the University of Kansas (KU).
The members of the CReSIS project utilized a Twin-Otter fixed wing airplane to map the ice sheet layers. The antennas attached to the wings produced radio waves in the VHF range which were used to map the base of the Jakobshavn Glacier. The ice sheet itself appears with layers denoting each passing year like the rings of a tree. The layers closer to the bedrock or base of the glacier are the oldest layers. Those closer to the surface are the newer. By mapping the total thickness of the ice sheet over a period of time, a determination of whether the ice is melting can be presented analytically.
National Science Foundation CI-TEAM Implementation Project
Cyberinfrastructure for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets NSF Grant OCI-0636361
Polar Grid NSF Grant CNS-0723054 CReSIS Award Number FY2005-108CMI
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