Argo Floats missing in action!

I was checking on how the Argo Floats we helped get ready were down south and saw that 3 were missing! They hadn't come back up to the surface to send off data for nearly 3 weeks. Feeling a little concerned and being the responsible person that I am, I pointed this out - only to get the reply "Carol, I'm not sure whether you're familiar with the way the "ice-avoiding" floats work"
These three Floats are down around the Ross Ice Shelf.

From early autumn to late spring every year Antarctica’s sea ice almost doubles the size of the continent!
This means though that Argo Floats in this area get caught under the ice. If they hit or rub up against floating ice they can be damaged or destroyed.

 
So they avoid ice (sounds like a good plan!)
There are especially designed ice-sensing floats that check the ocean temperature each time they ascend. If the temperature gets very close to the freezing point, the float will stop heading towards the surface at 5-10 m depth and go back to its parking depth, and try again 7-10 days later.

The float stores its profile data in memory. There is enough memory in this type of float to store as many as 68 profiles (although it is usually doesn't need to store more than 40 profiles between contacts with the satellite) Data transmission through the Iridium system is quite fast and each profile can be uploaded in no more than 2 minutes.

Leadership in Action

Kousez and Posner write:

“The Leadership Challenge is about how leaders mobilize others to want to get extraordinary things done in organisations. It’s about the practices leaders use to transform values into actions, visions into realities, obstacles into innovations, separateness into solidarity, and risks into rewards. It’s about leadership that creates the climate in which people turn challenging opportunities into remarkable success.”

(From preface The Leadership Challenge Kousez and Posner, 2007 p3)

The Five Practices of LeadershipKousez and Posner identify the five practices:

Fern Spore

After the very cool visit to Nga Manu, I came across this amazing video clip of Fern Spore. Not a fern we saw, but a fascinating mechanism anyway!

A visit to Nga Manu

I had a fantastic time with two fellow Teacher Fellows, Wendy and Steve last Wednesday. Wendy showed us around Nga Manu, a Nature Reserve that she is based at. Nga Manu Nature Reserve is a 14 hectare reserve located just north of the Waikanae township on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand. It encompasses the largest single remaining remnant of coastal lowland swamp forest on the Kapiti Coast. 


Hope I got the fern names right Wendy! Many thanks for the insightful tour!

Ocean acidification- a purpose-built experimental facility

Graeme is at it again! ( I owe this guy a fruit cake!) Here he is explaining about a purpose-built experimental facility for testing Ocean Acidification. Increased CO2 means a lowering of the Ocean's pH. Animals at a lower pH actually loss shell weight, which means the shells are dissolving under the more acidic conditions, or they arent generating new shell as quickly as they would have under normal conditions. Apologies for the sound (again) Lots of water around!

Paua Aquaculture

Graeme Moss works closely with the Paua breeding programme. You can't but help notice where his passion is! Once again, being in a watery environment the sound isn't that great- apologies for that.

Sea Cucumbers

Graeme Moss works out at Mahanga Bay Aquaculture Base and very kindly showed Puti and myself around. Here is a small clip showing the Sea Cucumber growing there.
Sea Cucumber can grow well under Paua farms. Despite its appearance, the creature is popular in Asian cuisine and is also used medicinally.

Christchurch- a year on

We were in Christchurch last weekend for a cousin's wedding. While there, we had a chance to drive around and see the devastation from the February 2011 Earthquake. Christchurch is a special place to me. I taught here for 3 fantastic years once. You cant help but feel moved! Hardly a recognizable landmark. Inner city a sorry sight. Kia Kaha Christchurch!

Carter Observatory

As part of our Curriculum workshop days, we had a field trip in to Wellington, to New Zealand's longest-serving national observatory- the Carter Observatory 

A strong emphasis on Te Reo Maori and beautiful displays throughout. It is fantastic seeing what a contribution Kiwis have made to the Astronomic field.

 A great exhibition to learn about the science, culture and heritage of astronomy from a uniquely Kiwi perspective
  

Primary Teacher Fellows

What a intellectual bunch!

Primary Teacher Fellows 2012

Curriculum Day- Balloon Racers!

It was terrific meeting up with the other Primary Teacher Fellows for 2 curriculum days. We are having such an amazing time! A fresh approach to BP Challenges today. We had to create a balloon racer that would go the furthest. Using a meat tray, balloon, selotape, compass, 2 straws, and 4 pins. 

 Quite a variety of different designs.

 Something new to me with BP Racers was being given time after the first competition to refine designs, looking at one variable. This was so much more satisfying! Asking "why that didnt work? " and "what next?"And by focusing on one variable we were also given extra materials to assist- eg. looking at propulsion, friction, wheel design - and therefore having a chance to succeed. Often BP Challenges leave a poor feeling for failures! I'm definitely going to follow through like this once back doing BP Challenges at school!

Paua Turning Over

Here's a quick video of a paua turning itself over in the water.