UK scientists will be live streaming to children around the world direct from the Arctic. The expedition team from the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory are researching microplastics and ocean acidification based out of the UK’s Arctic Research Station on Svalbard.
As part of their work, they will join AXA XL Arctic Live, an initiative to bring the frontlines of environmental change to classes. Taking a break from their research, the scientists will help to set up the world’s northernmost live education event.
The broadcast sessions will run from the 1st to the 8th May. Classes and families will be able to interview the scientists and members of the expedition team, take part in Ask-me-anything sessions, and join the experiments explaining some of the changes occurring in the Arctic.
The Arctic is changing rapidly. It is experiencing the highest levels of warming of any region on the planet, and the chemistry of the Arctic Ocean is acidifying more rapidly now, than at any time in the past 300 million years. Arctic Live offers the chance for young people to explore the issues and put into context news headlines about climate change.
AXA XL Arctic Live is a joint response by AXA XL, Encounter Edu, the University of Exeter, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to provide young people with the knowledge and skills to address the risks faced by the planet’s ecosystems.