Greenland Traverse Expedition

Teachers, visit YES I CAN! SCIENCE, (http://www.yesican.yorku.ca/home/index.html), the K-12 Science Database of Educational Resources for Science Teachers. Hosted Canada's Schoolnet and York University the science database provides support for The Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes, (The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada) for learning expectations and linked resources. Instructions for accessing samples from those linked resources appear in these pages. Be sure to visit the database yourself to find more linked resources that may be suitable for your students. Harsh, rugged, and almost completely buried beneath a cap of permanent ice and snow, Greenland is the world's largest island. From north to south it is 2,500 km long, about equal to the distance between Toronto and Calgary; at its widest point it spans about 1200 km. The length of its rugged coastline, deeply indented by fjords and inlets, is just about equal to the circumference of the Earth at the equator. The Greenland Traverse Expedition is a training exercise for Laurie, a chance to test his physical stamina, his mental alertness and his strength of character. Over the next 35 days, Laurie will test his equipment and raise awareness for his Canadian Antarctic Millennial Expedition.

Classroom activities have been included in this site to assist students in gaining an understanding of the polar environment and its interconnectedness with other eco-systems. Teachers and students will have an opportunity to access daily data on the total ozone and UV levels for Greenland. Activities have been organized by topic areas and cover Grades 1-12. Activities may be accessed by topic or grade level.

General Activities

• Research Greenland. Start with the Greenland Links page. Would you like to publish your reports, diagrams, pictures? E-mail them to science@yesican.yorku.ca. We may publish them here!
• Do you have a question you would like to ask Laurie Dexter? E-mail it to science@yesican.yorku.ca. Laurie is in contact by satellite phone. His airtime is limited but each week one question will be chosen to be relayed to him. The question and answer will be published on this web site. The remaining questions will be forwarded to Laurie when he returns.
• We will be bringing you daily maps to show the total ozone and UV levels for the expedition route.
  • Find out more about ozone and the role it plays at NASA's http://observe.ivv.nasa.gov/nasa/exhibits/ozone/Ozone.html.
  • Take the ozone quiz at http://www.ec.gc.ca/ozone/tockidzn.htm.
  • Older students should visit York University's Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry

Greenland Traverse Expedition Home | The Route | Progress Reports | UV Maps of Greenland | Classroom Activities | Ask Laurie a Question | Greenland Links | Canadian Antarctic Millennial Expedition Home