Discover how to use snow to measure and explore the impact of climate change and microplastics. Join our guest panelists Patrick Alexander and Laurel Zaima from the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory to learn about the X-Snow and PlastiX-Snow Citizen Science Projects. Find out how to guide K-12 and undergraduate students in taking measurements in the field to unlock the secrets in the snow.
The projects:
X-Snow Citizen Science Project: Snow has a huge impact on all life on earth. Scientists are looking at snow using satellites, drones, and computer models to collect and analyze data, but these methods have their limitations. This is where you come in! Join the X-Snow team to help us take measurements in the field, and together we can unlock the secrets in the snow.
PlastiX-Snow Citizen Science Project: Microplastics have become ubiquitous in all reaches of the world. Despite its importance, little is known about microplastics transported by snow particles. The PlastiX-Snow Citizen Science Project looks to fill this gap by using crowd sourcing data to measure the abundance and distribution of snow deposited microplastics in New York State and eventually, across the country.
Bios of Guest Panelists:
Patrick Alexander is a postdoctoral research scientist studying snow and ice processes at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. His research focuses on how the surface of Earth's ice sheets are changing in response to changes in climate. In particular he focuses on evaluating the ability of climate model simulations to capture the surface of ice sheets and on improving the simulations so that they can better capture future changes in ice sheet mass and global sea level. Patrick also has experience collecting snow measurements in the field and has enjoyed sharing these techniques as part of outreach events organized through Lamont.
Laurel Zaima is a scientist (marine biologist) and an environmental educator. She works on education initiatives that communicate science research to the general public, K-12 and undergraduate school groups, and New York and New Jersey teachers. She works with Lamont's polar climate researchers to teach about climate change, sea level rise, and changes to earth's systems with a strong emphasis on the changes occurring in the polar regions. Laurel knows the critical role that education plays in building a bridge between the public and the natural environment. She feels fortunate to directly impact people's lives and influence their daily decision making through the educational programming that she does today!
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