Missoula educators on ice: A trip to the Arctic for chemistry professor, teacher – The Missoulian

When the Canadian icebreaker CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent pushes off from the Nunavut coast in September, it will have two Missoula educators on board.

University of Montana professor Michael DeGrandpre and Big Sky High School chemistry teacher Dave Jones will be working in tandem on the complex issues of climate change and ocean acidification.

Jones was awarded a research fellowship from PolarTREC, a teacher research and exploration program that, according to its website, is designed to invigorate polar science education and understanding by bringing educators and polar researchers together.

PolarTREC links high school teachers to active researchers and, as Jones notes, brings real world research back to the classroom, and shows them why pH and solution chemistry matters.

DeGrandpres work revolves around ocean acidification. When carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean, it makes seawater more acidic, which can dissolve the shells of oysters, crabs and other creatures and can kill coral reefs. Working on the Louis S. St. Laurent is important to gather data points about the rapidly changing ocean chemistry.

Scientists are really motivated, and its a crucial place to be, DeGrandpre said.

Changes in the Arctic can drastically shift the weather dynamics in the entire northern hemisphere.

The weird weather were having is probably driven by ice loss, DeGrandpre said. The change in the northern oceans can shift where the jet stream flows over Montana, causing massive, strange changes thousands of miles from the source.

For anyone who has sat through a chemistry lecture, these kinds of world-changing discoveries can feel very far away. But for Jones, the experience will be invaluable in his teaching.

The ability to have an experience like this, he said, is the essence of'' learning. Being "engaged with and meeting other researchers can provide vibrancy to the classes he teaches.

And maybe that vibrancy will challenge someone to change the world.

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Missoula educators on ice: A trip to the Arctic for chemistry professor, teacher - The Missoulian