Who is Kathy Couchon?
My name is Kathy Couchon and I am a seventh grade science teacher at
Narragansett Pier Middle School
in Narragansett, Rhode Island. Our curriculum is life science with a
marine science focus as much as
possible. We are fortunate to have Narragansett Bay and a local estuary as
back-yard laboratories.
I have worked with the URI Office of Marine Programs in the past as a
Mentor Teacher in the Graduate
Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education program. For 3 years I hosted Marine
Science graduate students in
my classroom to share their research experiences and conduct activities
with the students. This
summer I am excited to be a part of the ARMADA project.
What is Kathy Doing in the
Arctic?
For my research experience I am embarking on a six-week expedition to the
Lomonosov Ridge area of the
Arctic Ocean as part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Project's Arctic
Coring Expedition. I will be
aboard a Swedish Icebreaker, the Oden, which will be part of a 3-ship
armada taking part in this
exciting project. An international team will be drilling sediment cores in
waters 1-4 km deep.
Microfossils from these cores, taken from 480 m of sediments, will be used
to look back at 50 million
years of global climate change. Each time I read about this project or try
to explain it to someone,
I am overwhelmed by this unbelievable opportunity to be part of such
"ground-breaking" science. What
could be a better way to excite my middle-school students about scientific
exploration than to bring
back my experiences and show them first-hand!
http://www.rcom-bremen.de/English/IODP.html
Kathy Couchon's Journals
Be sure to check out the images in the journal entries!
11 September, 2004: Leaving the Ice
9 September, 2004: Swedish Traditional Meals
7 September, 2004: I Have Reached the North Pole
6 September, 2004: Oden and Vidar Viking - Side by Side
5 September, 2004: Keeping Connected
4 September, 2004: Around the Labs on the Oden
3 September, 2004: Sunshine on the Ice and Drilling Frustrations
2 September, 2004: Summer in the Arctic - Present and Past
30 August, 2004: Down time on the Oden
28 August, 2004: Bits and Pieces from Aboard the Oden
26 August, 2004: Out on the Ice
25 August, 2004: Bits and Pieces From Aboard the Oden
24 August, 2004: Drilling is halted due to the ice situation.
23 August, 2004: A visit from the Swedish Air Force
22 August, 2004: Aboard the Vidar Viking
21 August, 2004: 100 meters of core!!
19 August, 2004: On the Bridge
17 August, 2004: The first samples from ACEX arrive in the lab.
15 August, 2004: Up in the helicopter and waiting to drill
13 August, 2004: Ice, ice and more ice!
11 August, 2004: First polar bear sighting!
9 August, 2004: First Days at Sea
7 August, 2004: First full day aboard the Oden.
6 August, 2004: Aboard the Oden.
5 August, 2004: Arrival in Tromso.
2 August, 2004: As others prepare for the beach today, I am packing my wool socks,
