Louise will be working in remote field camps while she is in Antarctica. This means that communications may be intermittant and Louise may not be able to respond to emails right away.

As a native-born Floridian, my favorite place to be is walking barefooted on a white sand beach, sailing on clear blue oceans, fishing, shelling or water skiing. So when "thinking south" how did a warm-blooded beachcomber like me skip all the way to the Antarctic? It's not often that we can point to a moment in time that changed our lives, but in my case it happened in 1989 at the NSTA convention. By chance I chose a session where polar explorer, Will Steger, spoke of his plans to traverse the continent of Antarctica by dogsled. I admit I knew little more about Antarctica than its location at the South Pole, but Steger's stories of the harsh climate and challenges he would have to meet were intriguing. He was at the convention to enlist teachers and students in an effort to raise people's awareness about the fragile nature of the continent and the need for the continuation of the Antarctic Treaty to protect this wilderness. I was hooked and wanted to know more.

I am lucky to live and teach in Naperville, Illinois, and to have the special circumstances that have allowed me to reach for my dreams. My school district encourages teachers to develop and share personal interests with our students. My colleagues are creative and willing to try new things. My husband, Terry, and two teenage sons, Cody and Hunter, are my greatest support and cheerleaders as I have pursued knowledge about Antarctica and have grown in my skills as a teacher. I began in earnest to develop curriculum that connected Antarctica to what my students were learning. We became true partners as we explored ways to reach outside our classroom walls through the internet and adventure learning. We struggled together through the infancy of online learning.

I began my teaching career in special education (K-12), and then changed to regular ed. where I have taught first, third, fourth, fifth, and most recently sixth grades. After eighteen years at Steeple Run, a Naperville elementary school, I am beginning my fourth year at Kennedy Junior High School, one of five middle schools in this large, suburban unit school district in Illinois. Besides enjoying working with students, I also facilitate many workshops for teachers. I have led science workshops at the Jurica Nature Museum at Benedictine University and at the Museum of Science and Industry. I facilitated several break-out sessions at the Antarctica and Rainforest Institutes at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in the summer I am on the faculty of the Golden Apple Summer Science Workshops for Teachers at both Benedictine University and the University of Chicago. I also lead teacher workshops as a certified facilitator for Project Wet and Wild Aquatics, (curriculum distributed through the Department of Natural Resources), and for CRISS, (CReating Independence through Student-owned Strategies). Like I said, I am grateful for a supportive family that has allowed, and encouraged, me to take part in so many challenging and rewarding extra-curricular activities.

The TEA program has given me the opportunity to fulfill a dream of actually visiting the continent I have found so intriguing. I look forward to increasing my own knowledge, but the fun will be in finding interesting ways to share my experience with students and teachers before, during and after the actual trip to "The Ice."


Ecological Processes in a Cold Desert Ecosystem: The Abundance and Species Distribution of Algal Mats in Glacial Meltwater Streams in Taylor Valley, Antarctica
Dr. Diane McKnight, INSTAAR, Unviersity of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
Dr. Daryl Moorhead, University of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio

Imagine finding yourself on the surface of Mars. The air temperature is extremely cold, and the landscape is barren rock, seemingly devoid of all life. Similiarities between Mars and the Dry Valleys of Antarctica are fascinating, and scientists find themselves asking what is the variable that brings life to these hostile systems? Simply put, it is water. At first glance the Dry Valleys are lifeless, dry deserts, but in the short Antarctic spring and summer, glacial meltwater flows into streams and connects the glaciers to perennially frozen lakes. The process of water flowing in the streams and evaporating from the surface, breathes life into freeze-dried microscopic life forms found in the streambeds, sediments and terrestrial rocks. Within the short period of 6-10 weeks bacteria and algae in the streams and wormlike creatures, called nematodes, in the soil, begin a frantic life cycle of biological processes fueled by the short period of available water.

Simply put, hydrology drives ecological and biological systems. Climate drives hydrology and is in turn controlled by topography. In 1992, the NSF selected the Dry Valleys as the site for the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research Project (MCMLTER). In the mid 1990's, one to three transects were established across twelve Taylor Valley streams for long term monitoring of potential controlling factors of algal abundance. These factors were identified as topography, nutrients, major ions, moisture, gradient and sediment grain size. The results of the first few years of study were published in 1997 by Alger, et al, Ecological Processes in a Cold Desert Ecosystem: The Abundance and Species Distribution of Algal Mats in Glacial Meltwater Streams in Taylor Valley, Antarctica, as a comprehensive resource. It will be used this season as the foundation for further studies of the stream ecology in the Taylor Valleys.

Last year the Dry Valley streams experienced record high flows. I will be working with the Stream Team this season to revisit the transects that were previously established and collect data and samples. We will re-map the transects, collect algae samples, make and record careful observations, and do pebble counts. Samples will be prepared and frozen for shipment back to research labs for analysis. How will the extremely high flows affect the growth of algae? What kind of changes will the record flows bring to the streambeds?

We will not be looking at any relationships between Mars and the Dry Valleys, but after seeing life spring forth with the addition of water, it makes you wonder what the introduction of water to that planet would bring!

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