Effect of Sunlight on Pony Lake Ecology

JOURNALS!

Science teacher Dena Rosenberger was selected by an interdisciplinary team of researchers and joined a polar research expedition in Antarctica.

While in the field, she participated as a research team member with Yu-Ping Chin (Ohio State University), Diane McKnight (University of Colorado), Christine Foreman (Montana State University), and Penney Miller (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology). The research team collected and analyzed dissolved organic matter (DOM) samples taken from Pony Lake, a small coastal Antarctic pond on Ross Island. DOM is an important part of aquatic systems, as it is a significant source of carbon for aquatic microorganisms and can protect algae from harmful ultraviolet radiation. This research project aims to increase the understanding of the role of DOM in carbon and nitrogen cycles in aquatic systems.

Dena teaches Chemistry and AP Environmental Science at
El Capitan High School in Lakeside, California. While in the field, she will send electronic journals and images to the TREC Virtual Base Camp and correspond with students and the public. Now back in the classroom, Ms. Rosenberger will collaborate with teachers from her district and will work with colleagues to develop materials that bring the experience of research “alive” in the classroom setting.

Dena hopes that by participating in this once-in-a-lifetime expedition, students everywhere will gain a sense of the polar regions as ecologically sensitive and politically significant areas of the world.

Click here to view a map of the Antarctic region.