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| 2000 Team |
Zach Smith
Assistant Field Leader
University of Maine
Orono, Maine
Zach has recently moved to a position as the Paleoclimate Coordinator for The Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies at the University of Maine. Zach has worked with the US ITASE field leader Dr. Paul Mayewski for two years. During the 1999-2000 Us ITASE season he corresponded with the field team on the Iridium phone and relayed information to the US ITASE web site.
This will be Zach’s first time in Antarctica and will help fulfill a life long dream. Information from this expedition and from his work in Alaska and the western United States all contributes to the science teacher workshops that are hosted each year in coordination with the Wright Center for Science Education at Tufts University, the Museum of Science, Boston and the The Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies. As the need for translated scientific climate change information increases, more educational materials will be produced at The Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies for use in classrooms.
The University of Maine’s contribution to the US ITASE program is to conduct chemical analysis of the ice and firn cores. Stable isotopes such as Ca (calcium) and Na (sodium) are analyzed to give a record of atmospheric circulation patterns. The Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies also supports similar field research programs in China.
Zach is originally from Pennsylvania but spent the last 15 years in New Hampshire. Along with his wife and two daughters, he enjoys cross country and telemark skiing, climbing, canoeing, and gardening.
