Support of educational activities is a critical element of the LTER program. For example, the Schoolyard Series is aimed at K-12 students, while undergraduate students can connect with researchers working in the field and graduate student find research opportunities. Because this is a new project, we are still developing NGA’s educational resources. As they develop, more links will be added.
Library of Plankton Images
Our collection of photos of microscopic organisms found in the Northern Gulf of Alaska illuminates the variety of life there.
Click to explore the Image Library.
Teachers at Sea
In previous years, there have been opportunities for K-12 teachers to join cruises on the Seward Line.
Click for more information.
Gulf of Alaska Seabirds
We have collected photos of the seabirds that were seen during the Spring 2018 cruise in the Gulf of Alaska.
Click to explore the Seabird Image Library.
Educational Resources
Educational resources about the northern Gulf of Alaska ecosystem with all of the links to partner websites.| Resource | Topic/Conceptual Understanding | Grade Level | Type of Resource | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gulf Watch Alaska Long-Term Monitoring | Scientist can develop understanding about the long-term ecological effects of an oil spill by monitoring changes in different components of a marine ecosystem and the environmental processes that drive ecosystem change. | Middle School | Virtual Field Trip Videos Lesson Plans | Students learn about the long-term monitoring projects that have been studying the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound and the northern Gulf of Alaska. Students explore the various monitoring projects and how, collectively, they can inform us about the overall ecosystem. The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of oil. An estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, up to 22 orcas, and billions of salmon and herring eggs were lost to the spill. Since the spill, scientists have been conducting a long-term ecosystem monitoring study to gain a better understanding of both natural and human-caused impacts to the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem. The Virtual Field Trip includes four video interviews of scientists monitoring plankton, humpback whales, nearshore communities, and oil lingering in the ecosystem after the spill and three lesson plans. Gulf Watch Alaska and Alaska SeaLife Center. |
| Gulf Watch Alaska: The Mystery of the Blob | Physical and chemical processes in the atmosphere and the ocean drive ecological interactions in marine ecosystems. Adaptation: Changes in seasonal patterns of winds and ocean water temperatures can affect whether or marine organisms can thrive and survive. Ecological Interactions: Patterns of energy transfer in food webs | Middle School | Virtual Field Trip Videos Lesson Plans | Students learn how Gulf Watch Alaska scientists took a systems approach to solving a mystery that arose in 2014 when people across the Pacific West coast began to notice large quantities of dead or dying birds washing up all along the shore from California to Alaska. As this event expanded, scientists began investigating the intricate network of natural processes in the Gulf to try and uncover the mystery of these dying birds. Students follow Alaska Native scientist Yosty Storms as she interviews a seabird biologist investigating the 2015-2016 “wreck,” or mass death of common murres in the northern Gulf of Alaska, a plankton ecologist, and an oceanographer. The Virtual Field Trip includes three videos and two animations – one of the “normal” annual seasonal dynamics of the ecosystem and one of the unusual conditions and likely impacts during the year of a large, persistent pool of warm ocean water nicknamed “the Blob.” Gulf Watch Alaska and Alaska SeaLife Center |
| Ocean in Motion | Physical changes in the aquatic environment occur on a daily, seasonal, and long-term basis. Weather systems and ocean systems have major influences on one another and the dynamics of matter and energy. Science and technology can be used to detect and solve problems. | Grade 7 Middle School | Unit Lesson Plans | The teaching unit is introduced with a true story of rubber bath toys that were lost overboard in the Pacific Ocean and found on beaches around the world. Students investigate physical patterns in the oceans as they progress through a series of investigations to learn about weather and ocean circulation patterns, waves and tides, temperature and salinity in relation to currents, and the effects of ocean floor topography on currents. They then choose a culminating activity to examine the effects of ocean movement in real-life or theoretical situations. Alaska Sea Grant Alaska Seas and Watersheds |
| Impacts of Changes in Glacial Ice | Climate patterns cause physical changes in the environment. Physical changes in the environment can change the conditions for life. | Grade 8 Middle School | Lesson Plan | In this 9-11 day investigation, students explore ways that changing climate can affect physical and biological conditions in rivers, the ocean, and other aquatic ecosystems. The Changing Landscape activity asks students to analyze “repeat photographs” (taken from the same vantage point at different times) of Alaska glaciers to observe the effects of retreating glaciers on the landscape. In the Melting Ice activity, students conduct a simulation to investigate the effect of melting glaciers on sea level. In a Stream Table activity, students simulate increasing stream flows that result from melting glaciers and observe the effects on the landscape and water quality. They also construct a mini Secchi disk to investigate transparency and the effects of increased turbidity from the increased flows as glaciers melt on aquatic and marine ecosystems. Finally, they play a board game to review the effects of retreating glaciers and increasing stream flows and erosion on river, coastal, and ocean ecosystems. |
| Videos | A variety of concepts | Various | Videos | Gulf Watch Alaska videos: a series of videos on the science of a long-term monitoring program. Includes several relevant to the NGA LTER project. Gulf Watch Alaska Project: shows a variety of scientists and their methods for collecting data about different components of the ecosystem Herring scattering: underwater in response to a humpback whale Kathy Kuletz: on the murre die-off during “the Blob” event Gulf Watch Alaska Youth Film Outreach: documents youth from the Alaskan Coastal communities of Nanwalek and Tatitlek as they interviewed elders and community members about the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. |
| Gulf Watch Alaska Environmental Drivers Component Photos | Scientists use a variety of tools to measure ocean conditions and collect plankton. | Various | Images | These photos include images of
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| Zooplankton Species Image Library | Biodiversity and adaptations | Middle School High School | Images Descriptions of Species | Images and background on the groups of organisms that call the water column their home along the Seward Line (the long-term transect line that is part of the NGA LTER) and for the subarctic Pacific Ocean in general. It is primarily visual, but also provides brief detail, natural history, and known distribution of species in different zooplankton species groups. |
| Pete Puffin’s Wild Ride | Ocean currents affect the movement and concentration of marine debris in gyres. The Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are connected by currents that move along the shoreline of Alaska northward and from west to east in the Arctic Ocean. | K-4 | Children’s Book | Pete Puffin’s Wild Ride: Cruising Alaska’s Currents. When Eddie's favorite wooden toy is lost overboard during a cruise in Alaska, Eddy learns about where the ocean currents could have taken his wooden puffin. By Libby Hatton Alaska Geographic |