Hello Students, Parents and Friends,
My name is Betty Trummel, an elementary (4th Grade) teacher at Husmann Elementary in Crystal Lake, Illinois. We are located 60 miles northwest of
Chicago. I have taught here for the past ten years after moving from Boston, Massachusetts. I graduated from the University of Illinois and
received a Masters in Outdoor Education from Northern Illinois University.
Why does a fourth grade teacher want to spend months in Antarctica? I have always professed to be "A Lifelong Learner". I love the outdoors and the wonders that the natural world offers. I constantly work to deliver this experience to both my students and the students in my entire district, School District #47. My TEA experience offers an opportunity to extend this offering into all area schools, elementary, middle and high schools alike. It also gives me the chance to share this experience with students and teachers across the United States and around the world.
I am married to Chris, an engineer and businessman, and am mother to
four boys and two girls. I have developed and taught summer
outdoor programs for the National Wildlife Federation for the past 14
summers, I hike, backpack, ski and kayak. In addition I am an avid
photographer** and have published two orienteering maps. No wonder I can't
wait to get "on ice" this year.
Please visit with me during my time in Antarctica by reading my journal postings. I will be at McMurdo in Crary Lab during much of my time there and I will have the opportunity to visit our drill site, 100 km from McMurdo Station. I look forward to sharing the Antarctic with you through my eyes
and photos. And of course, write me back.
Paleomagnetic and Mineral Magnetic Characterization of Drill Cores from the Cape Roberts Project
Dr. Kenneth Verosub,
Department of Geology
University of California at Davis,
Davis, California
The primary goal of the Cape Roberts Project is to obtain the climate history
of Antarctica for the past 65 million years. In parcticular the researchers
are trying to study the history of Antarctic glaciation dating back to the
Cretaceous period (which was the end of the dinosaurs). They also want to
study the fragmentation (breaking up) of the supercontinent of Gondwanaland,
and the location of the Antarctic continent during that period of time. To do
this they will determine whether Antarctica was always located at the South
Pole.
The researchers will be working on cores that are drilled from the bottom of
the Ross Sea. The drilling season will be 2 months long. In Antarctica, the
drill cores will initially be analyzed and characterized in the Crary Lab at
McMurdo Station. The scientific study of the cores will include
magnetostratigraphy (the study of magnetic properties), biostratigraphy (the
study of fossils used to date sediments), petrography (the study of rock
types), mineralogy (the study of minerals), and sedimentology (the study of
the conditions under which the sediments were deposited).
Our team will be using magnetostratigraphy which is the study of the changes
in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field as recorded by the rocks. The
pattern of these changes can be used to determine the age of the core samples.
Age determination is of importance in such a project because it will enable
scientists to obtain a history of climatic and tectonic events in Antarctica.
Project description from: Antarctic Geology & Geophysics Program, Drs. Kenneth Verosub, Andrew Roberts, and Gary Wilson, University of California at Davis & The Byrd Polar Research Center at The Ohio State University
