Tracking Polar Bears and Sea Ice

Summary

Materials and Preparation

• Tablet with Internet Access
• World Map or Globe
• Access to Polar Bears International’s Polar Bear Tracker https://polarbearsinternational.org/polar-bear-tracker 
• Access to Sea Ice and Buoy Data
  • https://iabp.apl.uw.edu/IABP_Maps.html 
  • https://earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/cryo/data/current-state-sea-ice-cover
• International Arctic Buoy Programme Map 
• Whiteboard or Poster Paper
• Markers
• Slide Deck
• Student Workbook
• Buoy Engineering:
  • Small plastic containers include film canisters, spice bottles, pill bottles, etc. 
  • Foam pieces, corks, or pool noodles
  • Weighs washers, marbles, coins, etc. 
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Waterproof tape, rubber bands, and string
  • Thermometers
  • A large container filled with water 

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Learning Objectives

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Opening Activity

Engage/ Introduction (10-15 Minutes) 

• Tracking Polar Bears Slide Deck (powerpoint)
• Tracking Polar Bears Slide Deck (PDF)

1. Pull up the program slide deck to lead students through the introduction and give instructions for each activity station.
2. Play the short video (5:42):
   • Polar Bears and Sea Ice (Polar Bears International)
3. Ask students guiding questions:
   • Why does sea ice matter to the planet? To polar bears? To people?
     • What makes the Arctic a unique or challenging place to work in?
     • Has anyone heard of the term remote sensing?
     • What does remote sensing mean?
     • Why do scientists use satellites, drones, and thermal imaging in places like the Arctic?
4. Briefly Introduce the International Arctic Buoy Program

The International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP) is a global scientific collaboration that uses floating instruments called drifting buoys to monitor the Arctic Ocean and sea ice.

Since 1979, the IABP has deployed and maintained a network of these buoys across the Arctic. The buoys collect real-time data on:

• Air temperature
• Barometric pressure
• Ice movement
• Ocean currents

This information is critical for:

• Tracking climate change and sea ice loss
• Improving weather and climate models
• Supporting search and rescue and shipping routes
• Understanding how the Arctic impacts global systems

Because the Arctic is remote and challenging to reach year-round, remote sensing and buoy data help scientists gather long-term, consistent information from places people can’t easily reach. The IABP is supported by over a dozen countries, making it a great example of international scientific cooperation. Share buoy data and sea ice extent maps with students and ask them to share their observations.

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Activity Overview

• Tracking Polar Bears_Student Worksheet
• International Arctic Buoy Programme Map

Make It Happen/ Activity Procedures

• Divide students into two groups. Throughout the class period, groups will rotate to activity stations around the room before coming together for a reflection and debrief. Each group should work on a worksheet that they will take from station to station. Groups should start with stations one and two before moving on to stations three and four. 

 

Activity 1: Tracking Ice with Remote Sensing (15 Minutes) 

Split students into small teams. Assign each team a buoy (real or simulated using IABP buoy data).

Students can use the IABP map to locate their buoy and see some of the data it has collected and transmitted. A hard copy of the map can be provided to help students orient themselves to the buoy’s location in relation to the Arctic Circle. 

Students answer:

• Where is your buoy located?
• What might be influencing its path?
  • Connect to satellite remote sensing: explain how we can “see” sea ice from space using radar and infrared sensors.

 

Activity 2: Polar Bear Tracking & Connection to Ice (15 Minutes) 

• Share real polar bear tracking maps from Polar Bears International
• Students track a polar bear’s movement. Comparing the Arctic Buoy map, are there any buoys nearby? If not, why might that be? Are the polar bears on or near the ice? How far do they travel? What changes over time?

Discussion:

• How do sea ice changes affect polar bear movement and survival?
• What can polar bear tracking tell us about ecosystem health?

 

Activity 3: Action & Advocacy (15 minutes) 

Students create a mini-poster, infographic, or short presentation to answer:

• What do buoys and bears tell us about the Arctic?
• How is climate change influencing this system?
• Why does this matter for people, even living far from the Arctic?

Optional Prompt for Deeper Engagement:

• Imagine you’re a scientist or policy advisor. What would you recommend to protect Arctic ecosystems or improve monitoring?

 

Activity 4: Engineer Your Own Arctic Buoy (20 minutes) 

Define the problem or design challenge. 

• Your team is a group of Arctic Scientists tasked with building a buoy that can float in the Arctic Ocean, withstanding harsh conditions and carrying instruments to collect data. 
• To be successful, your buoy must achieve the following:
  • Float upright
  • Stay balanced under gentle wave action
  • Support a sensor 
  • Must be able to conduct a temperature reading 

Plan & Design

• Students will begin by designing their buoy, keeping balance, buoyancy, and durability in mind.

Build & Test 

• Students build their buoys and test them in the bins of water 
• They can revise and retest as time allows
• Can students get their buoys to remain upright through waves?

Reflect

• What worked?
• What didn’t work?
• What design choices helped your buoy succeed?
• How might this be similar to real Arctic buoys used by IABP?

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Reflection

Exit Ticket: Group Discussion (10 Minutes) 

• What surprised you the most?
• What would you want to investigate further?
• How can we be a part of the solution for climate change

Remote Sensing

• What patterns did you notice in your buoy’s movement over time?
• How might the movement of sea ice affect ocean circulation or weather patterns??
• Why is satellite remote sensing helpful in the Arctic?

Polar Bear Tracking and Sea Ice

• How does polar bear movement relate to the presence or absence of sea ice?
• How might sea ice loss affect polar bears’ hunting behavior?
• What inferences can we make about the health of the ecosystem by using this tracking data?

Engineer Your Buoy

• If you were to redesign your buoy, what would you change?
• What sensors would you add to your buoy to monitor sea ice or climate?
• How did this activity help you understand what engineers and scientists do in polar science?

 

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Supporting Documents

• International Arctic Buoy Program Daily Map
• NASA Current State of Sea Ice Extent Tracking Map
• Polar Bears International YouTube
• Polar Bears International

 

Next Generation Science Standards: 

• HS-LS2-7: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
  • Design, evaluate, and refine a solution to reduce human activities’ environmental and biodiversity impacts.
• HS-ESS2-2: Earth’s Systems
  • Analyze geoscience data to claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedback that causes changes to other Earth systems. 
• HS-ESS3-5: Earth and Human Activity
  • Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current global or regional climate change rate and associated future impacts on Earth’s systems. 
• HS-ETS1-3: Engineering Design
  • Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, aesthetics, and possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts. 

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