"The Buried Carbon Hypothesis and Future Climate Change"
with Ning Zeng (University of Maryland/Wilderness Research Foundation)
3 Dec 2011

          When glaciers advance, they bury vegetation and organic matter in the soil. When they recede and the materials are re-exposed, they decompose as carbon dioxide and add to the greenhouse gases. Dr. Ning Zeng has proposed the "buried carbon" theory to explain the impact of this process on the global carbon cycle.
        With support from the Wilderness Research Foundation (WRF), in January 2010, Dr. Zeng,  research assistant Dr. Jay Gregg, and Sheldon Bart, President and Founder of WRF mounted an expedition test the "buried carbon" theory. They traveled to King George Island, the largest of the South Shetland Islands, off the Antarctic Peninsula. They collected samples of organic matter at the foot of the receding Collins Glacier, and later analyzed and carbon-dated them.
          Dr. Zeng and Mr. Bart will describe the expedition and results. Then, participants will pilot test several curricular activities based on this research, developed by Dr. Michael J. Passow of E2C. Such collaboration between researchers supported by a nonprofit foundation and classroom teachers marks an advance in bringing authentic science "from the end of the Earth to your classroom."

Wilderness Research Foundation